Biochar Leads the Way in New Construction Innovations for 2026
As the world’s population continues to grow, cities are rapidly expanding, creating a need to build more infrastructure to support daily life. According to the UN Environment Programme, “the buildings and construction sector is by far the largest emitter of greenhouse gases, accounting for a staggering 37% of global emissions.” As the construction industry works to meet global demand, it must also evolve toward more sustainable practices to reduce its environmental impact.
Holcim, a global leader in sustainable and innovative building materials, recently published an article titled 5 Construction Innovations to Watch in 2026 by Edelio Bermejo, Head of Global R&D, highlighting where the industry is headed. The five innovations include scaling calcined clay, recycling concrete with advanced crushing technologies, reducing freshwater withdrawals, accelerating 3D concrete printing, and leading the list is biochar.
For companies like Bioforcetech that are already working to transform waste streams into climate-positive materials, it is encouraging to see biochar gaining broader recognition. As noted in the article, “biochar can be embedded in cement, concrete, and mortars to reduce their carbon footprint with no compromise on performance.” Biochar is no longer on the fringes of the construction industry; it is emerging as a high-performance material capable of reducing emissions while maintaining the structural integrity that builders require.
Bioforcetech uses advanced pyrolysis technology to convert biosolids into OurCarbon, a versatile product used in sustainable building materials, inks, and other applications. When incorporated into concrete, every pound of OurCarbon stores more than one pound of CO₂e durably, with the carbon benefit contributing directly to the building’s overall embodied carbon profile. OurCarbon has already been used by several concrete providers in real-world projects across the Pacific Northwest and the Bay Area of California.
As the construction industry looks for scalable ways to reduce emissions, innovations like biochar demonstrate how waste can be transformed into valuable materials that support both climate goals and infrastructure needs. Seeing biochar highlighted by major industry leaders reflects a growing recognition that circular, carbon-storing materials will play an important role in the next generation of sustainable construction.
