Saratoga, California—7/7/2022—Earth Foundries, Inc., a woman-owned California-based Benefit Corporation delivering sustainable forest waste disposal to end catastrophic wildfire, is proud to announce the award of two additional grants for Workforce and Business Development.  The CAL FIRE grants will provide seed money for a mobile pyrolysis business and fund efforts to develop the San Francisco Bay Area biochar market.  These grants will expand opportunities for beneficial end-uses of otherwise unmerchantable forest waste.  The Biochar market grant will supplement a USDA Forest Service Wood Innovation Grant funding awarded to Earth Foundries in May.

“CAL FIRE’s workforce and business development grants support new and innovative wood utilization businesses that create value from unmerchantable woody waste from forest health and thinning projects.   CAL FIRE is pleased to support Earth Foundries’ efforts to develop the California biochar market and support sustainable forest waste disposal by deploying mobile pyrolysis equipment in the field,” Said Justin Britton, Forester II with CAL FIRE’s Wood Products and Bioenergy Team. 

According to Roger Smullen, CEO of Earth Foundries “California is faced with an over-abundance of unmerchantable woody waste from our forest health projects.  This material is often pile burned or chipped and hauled long distances, costly solutions that contribute to pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.  With CAL FIRE funding support, Earth Foundries will be deploying Tigercat Carbonators in California to help with forest health and fire restoration projects.  The Cabonator provides a solution at the pace and scale needed right now, to help ramp-up wildfire preparation projects in California with the added benefit of producing a large amount of carbon-sequestering biochar.” 

Biochar, a by-product of pyrolysis, is a key element of Earth Foundries’ waste-to-value vision for addressing the increasing quantities of forest waste California is generating.  The second CAL FIRE grant provides funding for biochar market development.  “Developing a vibrant, growing biochar market in the SF Bay Area will help make forest health projects more affordable so we can do more to prepare for the growing wildfire threat in the Bay Area’s Wildland Urban Interfaces or WUI’s” said Smullen. 

Earth Foundries, Inc. will use the biochar market development grant to create biochar demonstration projects in three specific areas: compost, stormwater remediation and manure management.  Earth Foundries Inc. is seeking additional demonstration project partners in the San Francisco Bay Area for stormwater remediation, composting, and manure management.  If you are interested in partnering on a pilot project or would like to be on the public information and outreach list for these projects, please contact Dede Smullen via email at dede.smullen@earthfoundriesinc.com.

About The CAL FIRE Workforce and Business Development Grants: 

CAL FIRE’s Wood Products and Bioenergy Team awarded 30 grants to applicants that include non-profit organizations, businesses, universities and community colleges, and local governments. These partners are implementing projects to create a robust and diversified wood products industry to facilitate the economic and sustainable management of California’s forests, as outlined in California’s Wildfire and Forest Resilience Action Plan.

“Forest biomass that is generated from restoration projects remains a burn risk unless it can be repurposed. These grants recruit and train people for those jobs and develop technologies and markets for wood products.” Chief Joe Tyler, CAL FIRE Director.

CAL FIRE’s workforce and business grants were made available through State of California General Funds. The solicitation remains open to new grant applications. Please visit CAL FIRE’s Wood Products and Bioenergy webpage for details.

About Earth Foundries: 

At Earth Foundries we’re all about ending California’s catastrophic wildfires. Now more than ever, public, and private land managers are working hard to restore the health of California forests. Earth Foundries helps by incentivizing the removal of forest waste from the landscape.   

The earth has multiple biological systems that naturally sequester carbon—soil, oceans, and forests.  Working with these natural systems, Earth Foundries will help end California’s catastrophic wildfires and address global warming. We take the naturally sequestered carbon in forest waste and limit its re-release into the atmosphere, making forest management a more profitable and more carbon negative activity.  

Founded in June of 2021, Earth Foundries, Inc. is a privately held, California benefit corporation and nationally certified women owned business headquartered in Saratoga, California. For more information, please visit Earth Foundries’ website at www.earthfoundriesinc.com and follow us on Twitter @earthfoundries. 

 CONTACT: 

Dede Smullen 

Dede.smullen@earthfoundriesinc.com