Carbon Storage in Asphalt
Processing biomass such as wildfire debris captures carbon, but this material needs a massive and permanent home to keep it out of the atmosphere. Road networks provide a globally scalable sink. Locking biogenic carbon directly into asphalt transforms everyday roads into secure carbon vaults.
Developing a pathway for carbon sequestration
In partnership with the Rainbow Standard, we are developing a methodology to store carbon permanently in the pavements we rebuild. Pyrolysis heats biomass in the absence of oxygen and converts it into biochar, a stable form of carbon that resists breakdown for centuries. We embed that biochar throughout the pavement base during cold recycling and full-depth reclamation, fixing the carbon into the road for its full service life and creating a verified framework for durable carbon removal at the scale of the road network.
Why storing carbon is critical
The US is scaling pyrolysis capacity to process wildfire biomass, forestry waste, and agricultural residue. That output is growing faster than agricultural markets can absorb, especially material from mixed or contaminated feedstocks that cannot be used in food grade applications.
By embedding these high carbon compounds structurally throughout the pavement base, not as a surface coating, road infrastructure becomes a durable carbon sink. The material is protected from decomposition by the pavement structure itself. Municipal waste goes into municipal infrastructure.
The disposal problem and the construction need exist in the same jurisdiction. This pathway connects them.
Turning the road matrix into a carbon sink
Roads already require aggregate, stabilisers, and binders. By replacing a portion of virgin aggregate with high carbon compounds derived from biomass and waste streams, road infrastructure becomes a verified, long duration carbon sink, permanently storing carbon while reducing the need for virgin materials.
Biomass Waste
Waste biomass from forestry, agriculture, wildfire management, and disaster clean up is collected as a sustainable feedstock.
Pyrolysis
The biomass is converted through pyrolysis into engineered carbon materials suitable for construction applications.
Embedded in Road Base
The engineered carbon is incorporated into the road base, replacing a portion of virgin aggregate throughout the pavement structure.
Permanent Storage
Once embedded, the carbon remains locked within the road for more than 100 years, providing verified long term carbon sequestration.
Durable Sequestration
Carbon locked inside a road base is protected from decomposition and combustion. It meets the IPCC recognised 100 year stability profile, with conditions inside pavement providing an even more stable storage environment.
Less Virgin Aggregate
High carbon compounds replace extracted rock within the road base. Combined with cold recycling that reuses existing asphalt, this significantly reduces the demand for newly quarried aggregate.
Engineered for Construction
Engineered carbon materials are designed specifically for infrastructure rather than agricultural use, allowing a wider range of biomass feedstocks, including mixed and contaminated materials, to be safely utilised.
Active Pilot Programs
Carbon storage credits are currently being developed with the Rainbow Registry and two Isometric pathways. Louisiana serves as the active pilot state for field validation and verification.