Ivorian Trade Minister Ibrahim Konaté on June 18 inaugurated a biochar plant in Attinguié, an industrial hub west of Abidjan. The facility, which uses cashew nut shells as feedstock, is being presented as Africa's first industrial-scale biochar plant. Developed by Singapore-based Valency International and fellow Singaporean company Revata Carbon, which specializes in converting agricultural waste into value-added products, the facility marks an important step toward the development of a biomass-based economy, where agricultural residues are no longer treated as waste but as valuable resources. A New Link in the Cashew Value Chain Biochar is produced through pyrolysis, a process that heats organic materials such as wood waste or agricultural residues at high temperatures in the absence of oxygen. It is used as a soil amendment to improve soil structure and increase water and nutrient retention. It can also serve as a sustainable alternative to fossil fuels such as charcoal and coal. With a stated capacity to process 20,000 metric tons of cashew shells annually and produce about 6,000 metric tons of biochar, the Attinguié facility, whose investment cost has not been disclosed, marks a new stage in value creation focused not on cashew nuts themselves but on one of their by-products. According to information reported by local media, the facility’s operators are already planning to expand capacity and reach annual biochar production of 100,000 metric tons by 2029. In any case, the new investment adds value to Côte d’Ivoire’s cashew industry, which has traditionally relied on the production of raw cashew nuts and cashew kernels destined for export markets. In 2025, Côte d’Ivoire exported nearly 728.11 billion CFA francs ($1.27 billion) worth of cashew nuts and cashew kernels, according to data from the General Directorate of Customs, and could further increase those revenues in the coming years through the growth of the biochar industry. A Fast-Growing Market While biochar has not yet become a mass-market product, international demand is growing, driven by agricultural and environmental considerations—a trend from which Valency International could benefit through its operations in Côte d’Ivoire. According to U.S. market research and consulting firm Global Market Insights Inc., the global biochar market is expected to grow from $109.3 million in 2026 to $320.8 million by 2035, representing a compound annual growth rate of 12.7% over the period. That growth is expected to be driven by the increasing adoption of sustainable agricultural practices. “Farmers have started using biochar as their permanent soil improvement method because they need to combat soil erosion and decreasing soil fertility and the growing problem of chemical overuse,” Global Market Insights Inc. writes in the summary of its Granular Biochar Market Size & Share 2026-2035 report. At the same time, the expansion of the voluntary carbon market is helping expand the biochar market. “The material value of biochar as an effective carbon removal method leads companies to use it in their carbon dioxide removal practices for earning certified carbon credits. The business model generates revenue through two channels which include product sales and carbon credit sales which leads to market growth through increased funding and production capacity to meet future demand,” the summary adds. A Transformation Extending Beyond the Cashew Industry The emergence of biochar within Côte d’Ivoire’s cashew sector is part of a broader shift toward the development of a structured biomass industry. Before the launch of the Attinguié facility, several recent projects had already illustrated this trend. In the energy sector, a 76-megawatt power plant under development in Divo since June 2025 aims to utilize up to 600,000 metric tons of agricultural by-products from cocoa and rubber production to generate electricity for the national grid. At the same time, an industrial partnership with Italian energy group Eni, launched in 2024, is helping establish an emerging biofuels industry based on rubber tree seeds, which were previously considered waste and are now being processed into vegetable oil for biofuel production. The rise of biochar in Côte d’Ivoire through Valency International’s facility is therefore more than a new industrial development within the cashew sector. It reflects a deeper transformation: the emergence of a biomass economy in which agricultural by-products are becoming valuable energy, industrial and climate assets in their own right.