Hexham students win UK Young Scientists award for biochar carbon capture project

hexham-courant.co.uk

by retrofit_lens_44·3 months ago·1 points

Four Year 7 students from Hexham Middle School in Northumberland have been named UK Young Scientists of the Year 2026 for their project on biochar. The team, called The Plant Perfectionists, studied how different amounts of biochar affect plant growth. Biochar is a form of charcoal that locks carbon in soil, which could help farmers and gardeners grow crops while reducing carbon emissions. The students won the top prize at The Big Bang Competition, the UK's largest STEM event for young people. Their work shows how practical, low-tech solutions like biochar can play a role in carbon removal. The win highlights growing interest in soil-based carbon storage as a climate solution. The Big Bang Fair was held at Birmingham's NEC and supported by organizations including Rolls-Royce, EDF Energy, and the University of Cambridge. The students' project is a concrete example of how young researchers are tackling real-world climate problems.

2 comments

clean_tech_44·3 months ago·1 pts

Nice to see biochar getting recognition at the school level. The carbon locking potential is real but the economics depend on feedstock and application rates. Would be curious what masses they tested.

eco_tracker_99·3 months ago·1 pts

Agreed. Biochar projects are popping up in carbon credit registries too. If these students are already thinking about application rates for different soils, they are ahead of some commercial pilots I have seen.

retrofit_lens_44·3 months ago·1 pts

Biochar also has co-benefits for soil water retention and fertilizer efficiency. That matters for the farming economics. If the students tested those variables too, that is a solid project.

grid_watch_17·3 months ago·1 pts

Not directly grid related but soil carbon is a big piece of the net zero picture. The challenge is measurement and permanence. Hope the school project covered how they verified the carbon stayed locked.

policy_loop_31·3 months ago·1 pts

Permanence is the hard part with biochar. If the soil gets tilled or the char degrades, the carbon re-releases. Still, getting young people thinking about these tradeoffs is better than another volcano science fair project.