Bioforcetech has received a $310,000 Bridge Carbontech grant from Columbia University's Carbontech Development Initiative (CDI) to develop an industrial-scale dosing system for incorporating biosolids-derived biochar into concrete.

The funding will support the design, prototyping and demonstration of an automated system that delivers the company's OurCarbon material into ready-mix concrete trucks at commercial batch plants. Bioforcetech said the technology is intended to help wastewater utilities create a beneficial use for biosolids while permanently storing carbon in construction materials.

The company produces biochar from wastewater biosolids, creating a carbon-negative aggregate for use in concrete. Bioforcetech said the new dosing system is designed to improve consistency and simplify adoption at commercial concrete facilities.

The grant comes as utilities face increasing pressure to identify alternatives to land application and landfilling because of rising disposal costs and evolving PFAS regulations. According to the company, converting biosolids into construction materials could provide an additional management option while supporting lower-carbon building projects.

"Bioforcetech has made its name building technologies that enable circularity," said Dario Presezzi, CEO of Bioforcetech, in a press release. "We are excited to take everything we've learned processing wastewater solids and apply it to closing a carbon loop into concrete for durable long-term storage."

The Carbontech Development Initiative, funded by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and administered through Columbia Technology Ventures, supports commercialization of carbon management technologies.