Pioneering sustainable hard carbon production from biomaterials; - A major leap towards European-made energy storage materials
Beyonder, together with leading partners from academia and industry, has successfully completed a groundbreaking three year long R&D project, focused on the sustainable production of hard carbon (HC) from renewable biomaterials.
As the demand for efficient, locally produced battery components grows, this innovation marks an important milestone in the establishment of a European battery value chain.
From lab to scalable innovation
The project originally set out to develop super activated carbon (SAC), but shifted focus toward hard carbon (HC) due to its growing relevance in next-generation battery technologies. The goal: 1) to verify production process from lab to prototype scale through significant testing and analysis using various biomaterial such as sawdust, biochar, and lignin, 2) design a scalable, sustainable process for producing HC from renewable resources.
Project team from Beyonder AS; Kingsley Ugochukwu, Turi Kvame Lorentzen and Jacob Ponniah.
Beyonder led the development of a custom-designed prototype machine, engineered through advanced 3D animation. To ensure cost-efficiency and timely execution, the machinery was built, installed, and verified in India. The produced HC was then shipped to Norway, where performance tests on coin cells confirmed the quality of the material.
Jacob Ponniah in front of the custom-designed prototype machine.
Performance tests on coin cells at Beyonder battery center.
Collaborative innovation
The project brought together expertise from across the energy and research ecosystem:
Beyonder (project owner): Designed, developed, and validated the HC production process.
WAI Environmental Solutions: Supplied biochar and shared process know-how.
Bergene Holm: Contributed sawdust and insights into raw material properties.
NTNU: A postdoctoral researcher examined the material’s performance, and two master’s students conducted a Life Cycle Analysis and scalability study.
This collaboration ensured that every stage—from raw material selection to sustainability analysis—was rigorously tested and documented.
Why this matters
Hard Carbon is currently imported from Asia, with no commercial production in Europe. Beyonder’s breakthrough offers a realistic path toward local production, reducing supply chain dependencies while using Europe’s untapped reservoir of waste biomass as raw material.
The prototype system has proven capable of producing HC at high temperatures, while maximizing energy recovery and reducing overall energy consumption. These traits are essential for scaling the technology for mass production—without sacrificing sustainability or performance.
The know-how developed in this project has also been valuable for the design of Beyonder’s BePowered battery cell.
Looking ahead
With growing emphasis from the EU on battery self-sufficiency, this innovation comes at the right time. The ability to produce high-value battery materials from regional, renewable sources could accelerate the creation of a European battery cell industry, cutting dependence on imported materials and positioning Europe as a leader in sustainable energy storage.
Acknowledgements
This project was made possible thanks to funding from the Norwegian Research Council, whose support has helped generate crucial knowledge in carbon material development, process optimization, and sustainable industrial design.
The project team:
📩 Jacob Ponniah | Beyonder
📩 Turi Kvame Lorentzen | Beyonder
📩 Dick van de Kleut | Beyonder/Skytree
📩 Dr. Long Lin | Wai Environmental Solutions
📩 Gang Xin | Wai Environmental Solutions
📩 Olav Bergene Holm | Bergene Molm
📩 Steven Boles | NTNU