Forest residues and timber by‑products sourced from NSW native forests will be used as feedstock for Australia’s first biochar steelmaking project, a move that aims to fully displace fossil coke and accelerate the shift toward Green Steel.
It comes after the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) awarded BioCarbon $4.8 million to support the development of a new plant in Bulahdelah on the Mid North Coast. Speaking with Wood Central today, chief engineer and co‑founder John Mellowes said that beyond its impact on heavy manufacturing, the technology represents a vital link in the emerging circular bioeconomy:
“By utilising sustainable forest residues and timber bi-products as high-efficiency feedstocks, we are providing the timber industry with an outlet for problematic waste. This integration not only allows timber producers to diversify their revenue streams but also positions wood-based biocarbon as a critical replacement for fossil-based coal in the global steel supply chain.”
John Mellowes, Chief Engineer & Co-Founder of BioCarbon, who revealed that BioCarbon (the lead of the project) will work with project partners including Biomet Pty Ltd, InfraBuild (Manufacturing) Pty Ltd, InfraBuild NSW, PyroAg and local sawmill S.A. Relf & Sons Pty Ltd over the next three and half years.
According to CEO and co‑founder Chad Sheppeard, ARENA’s support will be instrumental in helping BiooCarbon move beyond pilot operations toward commercial production. “Between our successful 3,000-tonne steel trials and thousands of hours of incident-free pilot plant operation, we are demonstrating that GreenChar is a viable, high-performance alternative to fossil coke that the steel industry is ready to adopt.”
Wood Central understands that the Bulahdelah facility, located near the Newells Creek and S A Relf & Sons sawmills, will produce renewable carbon products for use as charge carbon in Electric Arc Furnace steelmaking. Supported by ARENA’s National Industrial Transformation Program, it aligns with national efforts to reduce emissions in the metals industry.
And while most of the plant’s output will supply primary operations, BioCarbon will reserve a portion for selected industry partners to conduct exclusive trials, allowing steelmakers to validate GreenChar’s performance in their own furnaces.
The project builds on several years of development, scaling BioCarbon’s proprietary pyrolysis and consolidation processes into a commercial facility capable of continuous operation. A key objective is to demonstrate that renewable carbon can be supplied at cost parity with traditional metallurgical coke, a historically major barrier to industrial decarbonisation. BioCarbon says its engineering advances allow GreenChar to deliver a net‑zero carbon profile at the same cost in use as fossil‑based coke, removing economic risk for steelmakers and enabling emissions reduction without increasing operating costs.
The company’s technology has already been proven at scale.
GreenChar has successfully replaced 100 per cent of charge coke in Electric Arc Furnaces during trials that produced around 3,000 tonnes of steel, maintaining metallurgical performance without requiring major plant modifications. The work has earned BioCarbon international recognition, including selection in the XPRIZE Carbon Removal Top 100 and a place in the Tech23 cohort for deep‑tech innovators.
