Southeast Asia’s plantation sector generates millions of tonnes of agricultural residues each year, from palm trunks and empty fruit bunches to bamboo and kernel shells. Traditionally, these materials decompose in the field for years, releasing carbon dioxide and occupying valuable land.Onnu, a UK-based pyrolysis technology company, sees this as a missed opportunity. Its technology aims to transform this waste into renewable energy, industrial-grade biochar, and verified carbon credits.
Built for scale and speed
Onnu’s proprietary CarboFlow system addresses three critical bottlenecks that have historically constrained pyrolysis projects: cost, speed, and throughput.
- Lower Cost: Around two-thirds the price of traditional systems
- Faster Deployment: Manufactured in four months – 4.5 times quicker than conventional units
- Quicker Payback: Achieves ROI in as little as three years
This engineering approach makes biomass projects commercially viable at a scale previously out of reach. “We focused on the three critical bottlenecks of speed, process efficiency, and throughput, and we solved them,” explained Giles Welch, CEO of Onnu.
Malaysia partnership sets the stage
Onnu’s first Southeast Asian deployment is in Sabah, East Malaysia, in partnership with Agrotech Bioenergy. Two CarboFlow units will process 41,820 tonnes of wet biomass annually, producing 1,924 tonnes of biochar, generating 2,800 kW of renewable heat, and delivering 3,937 carbon credits verified under the Puro.earth standard – a certification framework dedicated exclusively to engineered carbon dioxide removal.The syngas generated will provide heat and green electricity for local demand, while captured heat powers a torrefaction process to produce black pellets – a coal substitute for industrial energy.
Why Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia?
These markets combine high biomass availability with growing pressure to decarbonise agriculture and energy systems.
- Malaysia: Large palm oil sector with significant residue streams
- Indonesia: World’s largest palm oil producer, facing sustainability mandates
- Thailand: Expanding biomass energy market and strong interest in carbon credits
Agrotech Bioenergy plans to roll out CarboFlow across multiple plantations in these countries over five years, targeting 360,000 tonnes of CO₂e sequestration annually and producing 180,000 tonnes of biochar from 900,000 tonnes of agricultural waste. The energy generated will displace coal, cutting global emissions by an additional 1.3 million tonnes of CO₂e per year.
Driving circularity and climate value
By converting waste into renewable energy and carbon-negative products, Onnu enables plantations to move from a linear waste model to a circular system.
“Conventional plantation operations produce vast volumes of biomass residues that typically decompose over several years, releasing significant CO₂ emissions,” said Prashant Patel, director of Agrotech Bioenergy.
He believes Onnu’s pyrolysis system establishes a closed-loop carbon pathway where agricultural waste is converted into stable biochar, renewable heat, and verified carbon credits.
“It proves that large-scale plantation systems can deliver high-integrity carbon removals alongside sustainable profitability.”
