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CostingEnergy mass balanceCarbon footprintBiomass

Biomass pyrolysis to biochar: cost per tonne of CO2 removed

Slow pyrolysis of wood chips, 300 to 5,000 kW of rated input, with the pyrolysis gas burnt for heat. Biochar, net CO2 removed (IPCC 2019 method) and the net cost per tonne removed after the heat credit, from DEA costs and BIOMACON datasheets.

  • CurrencyEUR 2025
  • Battery limitfully financed
  • 61 documented assumptions
  • Updated27 Oct 2026

Mass and energy balance

What the asset draws and delivers for the case and load you choose.

Reference case

capacity factor: 91.3 %

Full-load hours a year. 8,000 h is the BIOMACON datasheet example. This is the usage lever project mode sets.

Flows

  • In: Wood chips (20 % moisture)—
  • In: Auxiliary electricity—

Asset

Slow pyrolysis unit, wood chips to biochar with heat co-product

  • Out: Biochar—
  • Out: Useful heat—

Annual quantities at the current usage.

Rated thermal input of the pyrolysis unit, read the way BIOMACON prints it (C400-I 680 kW, C500-I 850 kW). The DEA CAPEX is sourced on 500-1,500 kW plants; outside that range the CAPEX is an extrapolation and the page flags it.

Useful heat output
— kW
Biochar output rate
— kg/h
Chip feed rate
— kg/h
Electrical draw
— kW

CAPEX

Specific cost at this size, what backs it, and how it behaves with scale.

Specific CAPEX at this size

—

Reference size 1,000 kW

DEA Technology Data, ch. 87

Model value: DEA 1.8 M€ per MW, linear with capacity. Customized: your own quote per kW of rated input, used as is at any size; it is then no longer sourced.

Specific CAPEX by fuel thermal input

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  1. Ex-factory
  2. Installed
  3. Fully financed· this figure
CAPEX at the battery limit—

Included

  • Equipment and installation
  • Indirect and owner's costs
  • Contingency

Not included

  • Nothing

Added at project level

  • Nothing: project mode uses the figure as is

Project figures

Values passed to project mode when this asset is added to a project.

Concept sketch, not to scale · drag to rotate

Wood chips (20 % moisture) in
—
Auxiliary electricity in
—
Biochar outMain product
—
Useful heat out
—
CAPEX to the battery limit
—
Fixed O&M
—
Variable O&M, excluding feedstocks
0 EUR/year
Asset lifetime
15 years

Log in to add this asset to a project.

Net cost per tonne of CO2 removed

A standalone indicator for a quick read. Project mode recomputes it for the whole system.

—

  • Net cost: capital—
  • Net cost: O&M—
  • Net cost: wood chips—
  • Net cost: electricity—
  • Net cost: heat credit—
  • Net cost: biochar sales—

Linked to the balance above

capacity factor: 91.3 %

Full-load hours a year. 8,000 h is the BIOMACON datasheet example. This is the usage lever project mode sets.

Sets the IPCC permanence factor: the share of biochar carbon still stable after 100 years in mineral soils (IPCC 2019 Refinement, Table 4Ap.2).

Delivered price of chips at 20 % moisture, net of VAT. Default: C.A.R.M.E.N. Q3 2026 average.

Value of the useful heat sold. Default: the C.A.R.M.E.N. 2025 wood-chip price per MWh, i.e. the avoided fuel of a chip boiler (conservative). Enter a contract price instead if you have one.

Purchase price of the auxiliary electricity. Default: BDEW 2026, small-to-medium industry.

Default 0: no grounded sale price, the char is assumed applied without sale. Enter an offtake price if you have one.

CO2 per tonne of chips for supply and char transport. No grounded default: 0 is a placeholder, supply your own value.

Optional. Market reference: about 150 USD per tonne for US biochar credits in 2025 (S&P Global). Enter your price in EUR; it changes the credit revenue and the margin, not the net cost.

Real discount rate. Default 4 % (DEA methodology); costs are in constant EUR 2025.

Technical service life. DEA: 15 years for small plants, upper 20.

Net cost per tonne of CO2 removed by operating hours

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Benchmarks

This model's figures against published references and reference cases.

Biochar yield, %

19 DEA Technology Data, ch. 87

19.2 Derived from BIOMACON

32 DEA Technology Data, ch. 87

Chips per MWh of rated input, t/MWh

0.347 Derived from BIOMACON

Specific CAPEX, EUR/kW

1,000 DEA Technology Data, ch. 87

1,700 DEA Data Sheets, sheet 87

1,900 DEA Data Sheets, sheet 87

Reference cases at this size and usage

Log in to compare the reference cases.

All results

Every model output at the current settings, grouped, with the sensitivity charts.

59 outputs · 5 groups · 19 also shown above, dimmed

Cost of removal

11
Net cost per tonne of CO2 removed
ComputingEUR/tCO2
Net cost: capital
ComputingEUR/tCO2
Net cost: O&M
ComputingEUR/tCO2
Net cost: wood chips
ComputingEUR/tCO2
Net cost: electricity
ComputingEUR/tCO2
Net cost: heat credit
ComputingEUR/tCO2
Net cost: biochar sales
ComputingEUR/tCO2
Gross cost per tonne removed
ComputingEUR/tCO2
Net cost per tonne of biochar
ComputingEUR/t
Chips share of gross cost
Computing%
Capital share of gross cost
Computing%

Carbon removed

10
CO2 removed
Computingt/a
CO2 stored in stable biochar carbon
Computingt/a
Emissions of the electricity drawn
Computingt/a
Logistics emissions
Computingt/a
Net removal share of gross
Computing%
CO2 removed per tonne of biochar
ComputingtCO2/t
CO2 removed per tonne of chips
ComputingtCO2/t
Permanence factor
Computingratio
Stable carbon in the char
ComputingtC/a
Organic carbon in the char
ComputingtC/a

Carbon credits (optional)

3
Carbon credit revenue
ComputingEUR/yr
Margin after carbon credits
ComputingEUR/tCO2
Biochar credit market reference
ComputingUSD/tCO2

Mass and energy balance

19
Biochar output
Computingt/a
Biochar output rate
Computingkg/h
Biochar yield
Computing%
Biochar yield, dry feed basis
Computing%
Yield outside DEA range
Computingbool
Wood chips fed
Computingt/a
Dry matter fed
Computingt/a
Chip feed rate
Computingkg/h
Chips per MWh of rated input
Computingt/MWh
Feed ratio against the rounded datasheet value
Computingratio
Fuel input
ComputingMWh/a
Useful heat
ComputingMWh/a
Useful heat output
ComputingkW
Input energy not sold as heat
ComputingMWh/a
Electricity consumed
ComputingMWh/a
Electrical draw
ComputingkW
Full-load hours
Computingh/yr
Capacity factor
Computing%
Fixed-cost load penalty
Computingratio

CAPEX and yearly costs

16
Specific CAPEX
ComputingEUR/kW
CAPEX scale exponent applied
Computingratio
Total CAPEX
ComputingEUR
CAPEX, DEA lower
ComputingEUR
CAPEX, DEA upper
ComputingEUR
CAPEX at the 20 MW straw-plant rate
ComputingEUR
Outside the sourced size range
Computingbool
Capital recovery factor
Computing1/yr
Annualised CAPEX
ComputingEUR/yr
O&M
ComputingEUR/yr
Wood-chip cost
ComputingEUR/yr
Electricity cost
ComputingEUR/yr
Total annual cost
ComputingEUR/yr
Heat credit
ComputingEUR/yr
Biochar sales
ComputingEUR/yr
Net annual cost
ComputingEUR/yr

Sensitivities

5 charts
Net cost per tonne removed by component, vs operating hours

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Net and gross cost per tonne removed vs heat price

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Cost per tonne removed vs wood-chip price

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Net cost and CO2 removed by pyrolysis temperature (IPCC permanence)

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CO2 removed, biochar and useful heat vs plant size

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About

Calculator context

Slow pyrolysis unit fed with wood chips, built to store carbon: the chips are heated without air, the char that leaves the reactor is the carbon sink, and the pyrolysis gas is burnt to supply useful heat that is sold. The calculator gives the net cost per tonne of CO2 removed, in EUR 2025, after the heat credit and any biochar sales, and before carbon credits.

Size and mass balance. The size input is the rated thermal input in kW, read the way BIOMACON prints it (C400-I 680 kW, C500-I 850 kW, the default). The reference case sets the chips fed, the biochar yield, the useful heat and the electricity per MWh of input from the BIOMACON datasheets (8,000 full-load hours, chips at 20 % moisture): at 850 kW that is 2,360 t of chips, 453 t of biochar (a 19.2 % mass yield, inside the DEA 19-32 % range for small plants), 4,000 MWh of heat and 96 MWh of electricity a year. The datasheet rated input corresponds to about 2.9 MWh per tonne of chips, below a chip LHV: the chip mass always comes from the datasheet ratio, never from an LHV.

Carbon. IPCC 2019 Refinement, Equation 4Ap.1: biochar x organic carbon fraction (0.77, wood pyrolysis) x permanence factor x 44/12. The permanence factor follows the pyrolysis temperature: 0.65, 0.80 (default) or 0.89 of the carbon still stable after 100 years in mineral soils. The electricity drawn is deducted at the German 2024 grid factor (363 g/kWh, UBA), and logistics emissions per tonne of chips can be added (no grounded default, 0 until you enter one). At the default case the plant stores about 1,023 t of CO2 gross and removes about 988 t net a year. Two caveats are published, not hidden: the 0.77 fraction applies to dry char and the datasheet does not say whether its char discharge is dry; and BIOMACON's own figure, which counts the char as pure carbon, is about 1,305 t a year for the C500-I.

Cost. CAPEX follows the Danish Energy Agency: a linear relation between capacity and CAPEX, about 1.8 M€ for a 1 MW plant (1.7-1.9 M€/MW), sourced on 500-1,500 kW plants. Outside that range the page flags the CAPEX as an extrapolation; it is probably conservative at the top of the slider, since DEA's 20 MW straw plant of another technology costs about 1.0 M€/MW, but no exponent is fitted between the two. O&M is 90 EUR/kW a year (DEA), the CAPEX is annualised at 4 % real over 15 years (DEA), chips are priced at 143.88 EUR/t (C.A.R.M.E.N. Q3 2026) and electricity at 172 EUR/MWh (BDEW 2026). The heat credit defaults to 37.70 EUR/MWh, the wood-chip price per MWh, i.e. the fuel an equivalent chip boiler would have burnt: a conservative value that you can replace with a contract heat price. At the default case the net cost is about 424 EUR per tonne of CO2 removed; the wood chips are the largest term, about 344 EUR/t, ahead of capital and O&M, while the heat credit takes off about 153 EUR/t. A Customized CAPEX accepts your own quote per kW. The optional carbon credit price, entered in EUR (US biochar credits traded around 150 USD per tonne in 2025, S&P Global), gives the credit revenue and the margin after credits.

Project mode chains the chips and the electricity as inlets and the biochar and the heat as outlets, with the DEA all-in CAPEX and the DEA O&M; the page's own prices only drive the standalone net cost.

Model

128 variables — inputs, calculations and outputs, with their dependencies.

128 variables shown of 128
VariableValueUnitDepends on
850kW—
8000h/yr—
1——
2——
0——
1800EUR/kW—
143.88EUR/t—
37.7EUR/MWh—
172EUR/MWh—
0EUR/t—
0kgCO2/t—
0EUR/tCO2—
4%—
15years—
VariableFormulaUnitDepends on
if((<=)+(<=)+(>)+(<)+(>)+(<)+(>)+(<)+(>)+(<=)+(<)+(<)+(<)+(<)+(<)+(<)+(<)+(>)+(<)>,,)bool
if(==,/,if(==,/,))MWh/MWh
if(==,/,if(==,,))MWh/MWh
*ratio
max(,)t/a
VariableFormulaUnitDepends on
min(,)h/yr
/*%
/max(,)ratio
**MWh/a
if(==,/(**),if(==,/(**),))t/MWh
if(==,/*,if(==,/*,))%
*t/a
*(-*)t/a
***kg/h
**t/a
**kg/h
/max(,)*%
if((<)+(>)>,,)bool
*kW
*MWh/a
*(-)MWh/a
*kW
*MWh/a
/ratio
if(==,,if(==,,))ratio
*tC/a
*tC/a
*t/a
*t/a
**t/a
--t/a
/max(,)*%
/max(,)tCO2/t
/max(,)tCO2/t
if((<)+(>)>,,)bool
if(>=,,)ratio
if(>=,,clamp(*(/)^(-),,))EUR/kW
*EUR
*EUR
*EUR
*EUR
if(<,/,(*(+)^)/max((+)^-,))1/yr
*EUR/yr
*EUR/yr
*EUR/yr
*EUR/yr
+++EUR/yr
*EUR/yr
*EUR/yr
--EUR/yr
/EUR/tCO2
/EUR/tCO2
/EUR/tCO2
/EUR/tCO2
-/EUR/tCO2
-/EUR/tCO2
/EUR/tCO2
/EUR/tCO2
/max(,)EUR/t
/max(,)*%
/max(,)*%
*EUR/yr
-EUR/tCO2
USD/tCO2

Assumptions

61 assumptions used in the calculations

  • Lower limit in the input guards.

    Market range Exact by definition.

    0
    Numerical constant
  • Unit multiplier in the CRF, the guards and the Customized switch.

    Market range Exact by definition.

    1
    Numerical constant
  • Converts a percent into a fraction.

    Market range Exact by definition.

    0.01
    Numerical constant
  • Converts a fraction into a percent; upper limit of percent inputs.

    Market range Exact by definition.

    100
    Numerical constant
  • Converts kilograms into tonnes (logistics emissions per tonne of chips).

    Market range Exact by definition.

    0.001
    Numerical constant
  • Converts tonnes into kilograms (hourly flows under the size slider).

    Market range Exact by definition.

    1000
    Numerical constant
  • Converts kW into MW (datasheet ratios per MWh of rated input).

    Market range Exact by definition.

    0.001
    Numerical constant
  • Reference case 1: BIOMACON C500-I datasheet ratios.

    Market range Not applicable.

    1
    Selector identifier
  • Reference case 2: BIOMACON C400-I datasheet ratios.

    Market range Not applicable.

    2
    Selector identifier
  • Reference case 3: rounded BIOMACON ratios with the DEA small-plant electricity consumption.

    Market range Not applicable.

    3
    Selector identifier
  • Pyrolysis temperature class 1: low, 350-450 °C (IPCC Table 4Ap.2).

    Market range Not applicable.

    1
    Selector identifier
  • Pyrolysis temperature class 2: medium, 450-600 °C (IPCC Table 4Ap.2).

    Market range Not applicable.

    2
    Selector identifier
  • Pyrolysis temperature class 3: high, above 600 °C (IPCC Table 4Ap.2).

    Market range Not applicable.

    3
    Selector identifier
  • Model value of the specific investment, EUR 2025, applied per kW of rated thermal input (fuel_thermal_input).

    Market range DEA lower 1,700 / upper 1,900 EUR/kW (datasheet 87 Slow Pyrolysis Small Straw).

    1800EUR/kW
    DEA Technology Data, ch. 87
  • Lower DEA specific investment; floor of the model value and low end of the CAPEX band shown on the page.

    Market range DEA lower value.

    1700EUR/kW
    DEA Data Sheets, sheet 87
  • Upper DEA specific investment; ceiling of the model value and high end of the CAPEX band shown on the page.

    Market range DEA upper value.

    1900EUR/kW
    DEA Data Sheets, sheet 87
  • Exponent 1: the source states that small-plant CAPEX scales linearly with capacity (no economy of scale inside the 0.5-1.5 MW small-plant range), so the specific CAPEX is flat with size. Outside 500-1,500 kW this is an extrapolation and the page raises the out-of-sourced-domain flag.

    Market range No independent range cited.

    1
    DEA Technology Data, ch. 87
  • Size of the cited cost anchor (1 MW), reference of the scaling law.

    Market range Not applicable.

    1000kW
    DEA Technology Data, ch. 87
  • Lower end of the size range the DEA CAPEX is sourced on. Below it the out_of_sourced_domain flag is raised.

    Market range DEA small-plant range 0.5-1.5 MW.

    500kW
    DEA Data Sheets, sheet 87
  • Upper end of the size range the DEA CAPEX is sourced on. Above it the linear CAPEX is an extrapolation, probably conservative (see the 20 MW reference).

    Market range DEA small-plant range 0.5-1.5 MW.

    1500kW
    DEA Data Sheets, sheet 87
  • Warning reference only: the specific cost of a large straw plant of another technology. It is NOT fitted into a scaling law; it shows that the linear CAPEX is likely conservative well above 1.5 MW.

    Market range Single published value, other technology.

    1000EUR/kW
    DEA Technology Data, ch. 87
  • Fixed and variable O&M per kW of rated thermal input per year, excluding feedstock and electricity which are counted separately.

    Market range DEA 80-100 EUR/kW/yr.

    90EUR/kW/yr
    DEA Data Sheets, sheet 87
  • Rated thermal input of the C500-I, the default size and the basis of the case 1 ratios.

    Market range Catalogue product.

    850kW
    BIOMACON C500-I datasheet
  • Nominal (useful) thermal power of the C500-I; heat ratio of case 1 = 500/850.

    Market range Catalogue product.

    500kW
    BIOMACON C500-I datasheet
  • Wood chips fed a year at 8,000 full-load hours (20 % moisture as delivered); feed ratio of case 1.

    Market range Catalogue product.

    2360t/a
    BIOMACON C500-I datasheet
  • Biochar discharged a year at 8,000 full-load hours; yield of case 1 = 453/2360.

    Market range Catalogue product.

    453t/a
    BIOMACON C500-I datasheet
  • Electrical power consumption of the C500-I; electricity ratio of case 1 = 12/850.

    Market range Catalogue product.

    12kW
    BIOMACON C500-I datasheet
  • Rated thermal input of the C400-I, basis of the case 2 ratios.

    Market range Catalogue product.

    680kW
    BIOMACON C400-I datasheet
  • Nominal (useful) thermal power of the C400-I; heat ratio of case 2 = 400/680.

    Market range Catalogue product.

    400kW
    BIOMACON C400-I datasheet
  • Wood chips fed a year at 8,000 full-load hours; feed ratio of case 2.

    Market range Catalogue product.

    1900t/a
    BIOMACON C400-I datasheet
  • Biochar discharged a year at 8,000 full-load hours; yield of case 2 = 364/1900.

    Market range Catalogue product.

    364t/a
    BIOMACON C400-I datasheet
  • Full-load hours of both datasheet examples; denominator of the datasheet ratios and reference of the fixed-cost load penalty.

    Market range Catalogue product.

    8000h/yr
    BIOMACON datasheets
  • Water content of the wood chips in the datasheet examples; gives the dry feed shown on the page.

    Market range Matches the C.A.R.M.E.N. price basis (20 % water content).

    20%
    BIOMACON datasheets
  • Rounded feed ratio used by case 3, and benchmark of the specific feed consumption.

    Market range C400-I gives 0.349 t/MWh.

    0.347t/MWh
    Derived from BIOMACON
  • Rounded biochar yield used by case 3, and benchmark of the yield output.

    Market range DEA small plants 19-32 % by weight.

    19.2%
    Derived from BIOMACON
  • Low end of the DEA small-plant biochar mass yield; benchmark and range flag.

    Market range DEA 19-32 %.

    19%
    DEA Technology Data, ch. 87
  • High end of the DEA small-plant biochar mass yield; benchmark and range flag.

    Market range DEA 19-32 %.

    32%
    DEA Technology Data, ch. 87
  • Rounded useful-heat ratio used by case 3.

    Market range Identical on both datasheets.

    0.588MWh/MWh
    Derived from BIOMACON
  • Electricity ratio of case 2. The C400-I electricity consumption was not collected, so the C500-I ratio is borrowed.

    Market range DEA small straw plant 0.0225 MWh/MWh.

    0.0141MWh/MWh
    Derived from BIOMACON
  • Electricity ratio of case 3 (DEA cross-check, straw plant).

    Market range BIOMACON C500-I 0.0141.

    0.0225MWh/MWh
    DEA Data Sheets, sheet 87
  • Organic carbon fraction of wood biochar from pyrolysis.

    Market range ± 42 % (IPCC).

    0.77ratio
    IPCC 2019 Refinement
  • Fraction of biochar carbon still stable after 100 years, low-temperature pyrolysis. Applies to biochar added to mineral soils.

    Market range ± 15 %.

    0.65ratio
    IPCC 2019 Refinement
  • Fraction of biochar carbon still stable after 100 years, medium-temperature pyrolysis (default). Applies to biochar added to mineral soils.

    Market range ± 11 %.

    0.8ratio
    IPCC 2019 Refinement
  • Fraction of biochar carbon still stable after 100 years, high-temperature pyrolysis. Applies to biochar added to mineral soils.

    Market range ± 13 %.

    0.89ratio
    IPCC 2019 Refinement
  • Converts stable carbon into CO2.

    Market range Exact (44/12).

    3.667tCO2/tC
    Stoichiometry
  • Emission factor of the electricity the plant draws, deducted from the removal.

    Market range German 2024 mix; another grid changes it.

    0.363tCO2/MWh
    UBA 2025
  • Market reference shown next to the carbon credit price input. No EUR/USD rate is grounded, so it is not converted: the user enters the credit price in EUR.

    Market range Market reference, USD.

    150USD/tCO2
    carboncredits.com / S&P Global
  • Default wood-chip price, net of VAT, at the datasheet moisture.

    Market range No independent range cited.

    143.88EUR/t
    C.A.R.M.E.N. 2026
  • Default heat credit = the avoided fuel cost of an equivalent wood-chip boiler. Conservative: it ignores the boiler efficiency and the boiler CAPEX. A contract heat price can be entered instead.

    Market range No independent range cited.

    37.7EUR/MWh
    C.A.R.M.E.N. 2025
  • Default electricity purchase price.

    Market range No independent range cited.

    172EUR/MWh
    BDEW 2026
  • Real discount rate; all costs are in constant EUR 2025, so the rate is real.

    Market range No independent range cited.

    4%
    DEA Technology Data
  • Technical service life of the plant; also exported to project mode as the asset lifetime.

    Market range DEA 15 years, upper 20.

    15years
    DEA Data Sheets, sheet 87
  • Default 0: the char is applied without being sold. Enter a sale price if you have an offtake contract.

    Market range No independent range cited.

    0EUR/t
    Assumption (flagged)
  • Default 0, flagged: supply your own logistics emissions per tonne of chips (harvest, chipping, trucking, char spreading).

    Market range No independent range cited.

    0kgCO2/t
    Assumption (flagged)
  • Default 0 (optional output): enter your credit price in EUR. It changes only the credit revenue and the margin, not the net cost.

    Market range Market reference about 150 USD/tCO2e.

    0EUR/tCO2
    Assumption (flagged)
  • Carbon method: CO2 gross = biochar mass × F_C × F_perm × 44/12; net removal = gross − grid emissions of the electricity drawn − logistics emissions. The IPCC factors are for biochar added to mineral soils (cropland, grassland).

    Market range Not applicable.

    —
    Model scope
  • Cost method: net cost per tonne of CO2 removed = (annualised CAPEX + O&M + chips + electricity − heat credit − biochar sales) ÷ net tonnes removed, a levelised cost of removal. All costs EUR 2025, real.

    Market range Not applicable.

    —
    Model scope
  • Caveat: F_C applies to dry biochar, and the datasheet does not say whether the char discharge is wet or dry. BIOMACON's own figure, which counts the char as pure carbon (1 kg C to 3.6 kg CO2, minus 20 %), is about 1,305 t/a for the C500-I against about 1,023 t/a gross here: the gap comes from the 0.77 carbon fraction.

    Market range Not applicable.

    —
    Model limit
  • Caveat: the datasheet 'rated thermal input' corresponds to about 2.9 MWh per tonne of chips, below the roughly 4 MWh/t implied by chip prices at 20 % moisture. The size input is read the manufacturer's way, and the chip mass comes from the datasheet ratio, not from an LHV.

    Market range Not applicable.

    —
    Model limit
  • The plausible net-cost band [300, 650] EUR/tCO2 is the corner band of the cited technical parameters at the reference prices. The price, finance and logistics sliders let you leave that band on purpose (for example a contract heat price or a biochar offtake): the page then shows your case, not the reference band.

    Market range No independent range cited.

    —
    Model scope
  • Project mode: the wood chips and the electricity are inlets priced by the project, the biochar and the useful heat are outlets; so the exported opex is the DEA O&M only. The net cost per tonne on this page is the standalone indicator, with the page's own prices.

    Market range Not applicable.

    —
    Model scope