Legend of biochar

Soil CRC Program Leader, Dr Lukas Van Zwieten from the NSW Department of Primary Industries is officially a legend! Lukas was announced as the inaugural inductee to the Biochar Hall of Fame when the Australian New Zealand Biochar Industry Group (ANZBIG) held their Biochar Roadmap Summit at the Adelaide Hills Convention Centre on September 8 and 9.

The Summit,was attended by over 200 delegates from biochar producers, commercial glasshouse operators, biochar manufacturers, researchers, the CSIRO and growers.

At the Gala Dinner, Professor Ross Garnaut presented the National ANZBIG Biochar Awards, including the award to Lukas.  

The award was in recognition of his contribution to the biochar industry in Australia, with over 20 years of biochar research and over 100 research papers published.

“It was nice to reflect on 20 years of research on biochar and great to get together with colleagues old and new,” Lukas said.

He believes the future for biochar is promising.

“The industry has hit a lot of roadblocks and the new industry roadmap has addressed lots of these and will facilitate a more rapid advancement of the industry from here on in.” he said.

ANZBIG facilitate and assist companies, governments and institutions in the effective production and use of Biochar. Their focus is to streamline biochar education, research, collaboration, and commercialisation activities to provide better outcomes for Australia and New Zealand.

The Soil CRC has a number of research projects and PhD students that are improving our understanding of how biochar can be used in agriculture to improve soil performance and productivity.