Earthly Biochar wins £50,000 in Innovate UK’s Young Innovators Next Steps Awards
Devon-based Earthly Biochar has been awarded a £50,000 Innovate UK grant as part of the Young Innovators Next Steps Awards.
Founded by two innovators in their mid-20’s, Earthly Biochar helps farmers and gardeners to use less water and feed, and grow bigger, healthier plants using an organic soil supplement that also sequesters carbon.
Earthly Biochar will use the grant to develop more novel biochar products that will help establish the foundations for a carbon negative economy.
Innovate UK’s Young Innovators Next Steps Awards recognises trailblazing young entrepreneurs who have previously been recipients of the Young Innovator Awards.
“We’re so proud to have been recognised once again by Innovate UK,” says Lottie Hawkins, Co-Founder, Earthly Biochar. “With a growing team behind us and access to funding, we can now deliver on our mission to scale up carbon capture and focus on adapting to climate change.”
Earthly Biochar delivers climate benefits by gathering waste wood and other biomass and capturing the carbon that would otherwise be released if it was rotted or incinerated.
By burning this organic waste at high temperatures in pyrolysis kilns with little or no oxygen present, the company creates a black stable material known as biochar. The biochar captures 50% of the wood’s carbon within crystalline structures that do not biodegrade, meaning they will remain locked into the product for many thousands of years to come.
Earthly Biochar’s research indicates that, when added to soil, biochar increases plant health and growth by 10-200% and reduces the need for water and fertiliser by 15-40%, depending on existing soil quality.
Since winning the Young Innovators Award in 2021, Earthly Biochar has benefited from a bespoke package of mentoring and growth support from Innovate UK EDGE, focused on business strategy, marketing and investment readiness.
Innovate UK EDGE Finance Specialist, Phil Tellwright, was appointed to support Earthly Biochar become “investment ready” and develop an investment strategy that would attract angel investors.
“Phil was a fantastic sounding board throughout the courting process,” says Lottie. “When we had concerns, he could either put us at our ease or tell us to push back, and his mentorship proved critical.”
Earthly Biochar was keen to take advantage of the UK Government’s Kickstart scheme in order to hire two interns to help with their marketing activity, and as part of their ongoing support, Innovate UK EDGE Marketing Specialist, Jane Warren, helped Earthly Biochar develop their overall marketing strategy, including a messaging framework and campaign and a channel strategy for the interns to work on.
“Jane has a huge amount of marketing experience, and we now have a very comprehensive plan that we can hand over to our two new marketing interns, who will execute the strategy over the next 12 months.”
Reflecting on her support journey with Innovate UK EDGE, Lottie says: “the outstanding support has helped us to achieve a series of major milestones over the past year. We’ve expanded our team, completed product development, and launched our hero product; biochar kilns for gardeners.
“We are now in a strong position to scale and secure further funding and investment.”
In a message to other young, innovative entrepreneurs, Lottie says: “applications for the next Young Innovators Awards are now open. What if one of the 2022/23 awardees was you? If you have a business idea, or even a problem you think is worth solving, I really urge you to apply. It was game-changing for us. Dream bigger.”
Innovate UK EDGE will continue to offer close mentorship and guidance as this Devon-based business helps tackle our global climate, waste management and food production challenges.
