Sault Ste. Marie is looking into partnering with local forestry firms to make biochar for use in Algoma Steel’s new electric arc furnaces.
Biochar is a form of charcoal made from processed plant matter, in a low-oxygen environment.
“The use of biochar is a way that Algoma Steel can further decarbonize its new electric furnace operations,” Ward 5 Coun. Corey Gardi said at a city council meeting on Monday.
“To me, it’s like the math is pretty much already done,” Gardi said.
“The province is literally waiting, from what I’ve read, to fund a large-scale deployment in a city that has both a steel mill and forestry residue.”
In electric arc steelmaking, biochar can:
act as a foaming agent to protect the arc
replace coke or anthracite as a carbon source
improve slag dynamics
increase steel yield
reduce COâ‚‚ emissions
Gardi pointed out that Ontario’s 2025 Interim Report on the Forest Biomass Action Plan, specifically pointed to using biochar in steel production as a primary carbon reduction strategy.
“I’d like to also mention that Algoma Steel is a member of the Canadian Iron & Steel Energy Research Association, which is currently leading research into the use of biocarbon for electric arc furnace slag foaming,” Gardi said.
“While Algoma Steel hasn’t built its own biochar plants, they are positioned as the primary anchor customer in a community like ours for potential biochar producers in the region, such as CHAR Technologies, which some may know has expanded its facilities in Ontario, in places like Espanola and Thorold.”
Gardi said there are are “tens of millions of dollars” available for projects of this kind, including money available from the federal Indigenous Forestry Initiative.
“The more we can do to get the economy going, the better,” the councillor said.
“As we enter 2026 we all feel the weight of our city, which is in transition.
“We’re all aware of the early closure of the blast furnaces at Algoma Steel and the difficult layoffs that have directly impacted 1,000 or so of our friends and neighbours.
“While these shifts are challenging, we all know they are not the end of our story. As a city with a rich industrial heritage, it can be the beginning of our next chapter.”
City council voted Monday in favour of a resolution from Gardi and Ward 1’s Sonny Spina to have city staff explore biochar as one of a number of ‘green economy’ initiatives.
These include a district energy network to capture industrial waste heat from local manufacturing, and prioritizing “green logistics” at the Sault’s proposed port expansion, to facilitate movement of bio-products and critical minerals needed by the EV supply chain.