Humify GmbH, based in Potsdam, is a spin-off of the highly acclaimed scientist Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Markus Antonietti from the Max-Planck-Society, supported by an experienced management team.
Humify has developed a unique technology that can transform biomass into humic substances (A-HS – artificial humic substance).
The application of these humic substances leads to a significant improvement in soil quality as well as an increase in agricultural yield by up to 20%. Additionally, the humic substances stimulate the soil microbiome, resulting in the soil’s CO2 storage capacity being increased by approximately 50 times. This biological leverage for reactivating soils as carbon sinks thus presents a potential climate solution.
The hydrothermal humification (HTH) process developed by Humify can convert a variety of feedstocks (organic residues, agricultural by-products, anaerobic digestion sludge, etc.) into artificial humic substances while simultaneously sterilising, detoxifying (e.g., removing antibiotics and hormones), and preserving the content (such as carbon, phosphorus, and nitrogen). This process is efficient, fast, and cost-effective, making it suitable for global use on a gigaton scale.
Soil is the world’s largest CO2 reservoir and also a major CO2 producer. Deforestation, industrial agriculture, and the draining of wetlands have led to a decrease in the soil’s CO2 storage capacity, with emissions increasingly being released due to the degradation of the microbiome. The natural restoration of these areas with carbon buildup would biologically take up to 3,000 years.
While other natural methods such as pyrolysis (biochar) lead to a humic content of 5-7% in the humus, Humify’s innovative process achieves a concentration of up to 70%. This “super humus” results in a microbial enrichment that increases CO2 binding in the stimulated soil by approximately 50 times. For example, about 2 tons per hectare of humus, necessary for optimal plant growth, achieves an additional CO2 binding of 25-70 tons per year in greenhouse experiments.
Thus, compared to existing solutions, this process delivers unprecedented results in CO2 binding capacity as well as soil fertility. For instance, an initial simulation suggests that Brandenburg could achieve carbon neutrality within 10 years if the carbon potential of its agricultural and forest lands were utilised.
The so-called “4 per 1000” initiative of the Paris Climate Conference states that an additional carbon storage of 0.4% in the top soil each year would be enough to stop the increase of CO2 in the atmosphere. As Debbie Barker, the international director of the Center for Food Safety, said: “We have a huge potential carbon sink under our feet and we are not using it.”
HUMIFY aims to change that. Besides using it on degraded agricultural lands, the restoration of grasslands and wetlands is also conceivable. The patent application for the process is planned for the next few months. A pilot plant with an output of 3,000 tons per year and a potential CO2 effect of approximately 150,000 tons is in the planning stages, and preliminary discussions about possible experimental sites are underway. After a regional testing phase, a national and global rollout is planned. As Markus Antonietti says, “Global problems can only be solved globally.”
Potsdam, 01.07.2023
Humify GmbH
Anklamerstr. 32
10115 Berlin
Email: info@humify.earth
Tel.: +4933200 653989
Website: https://www.humify.earth
Contact person: Harald Pinger, CEO Humify GmbH
