"Green" tea: clean heat and power with biomass residues

Tea is both a contributor to and a casualty of climate change. In Kenya, cultivating and processing tea emits over 1 million tons of CO₂e annually. 

Over the past decade, the country’s output has shot up by 33%, driving fuelwood demand to 1.3 million tons per year, as factories lack viable alternatives for process heat. This is depleting critical water towers and undermining Kenya’s 50,000-hectare reforestation goal. Incineration also pollutes. National grid outages force factories to rely on diesel generators. 

Synthetic fertilizer accounts for up to 70% of the carbon footprint from made tea. Tea farms are also hotspots of nitrogen emissions.  

This project has been initiated to prove that biomass gasification lowers tea production costs, reduces and removes greenhouse gas emissions, brings women into engineering roles, generates supply chain jobs, restores the soil and frees up land through improved yield and opens the route to more sustainable cultivation and input saving (fertilizers and land). This will all be backed by a digital backbone. 

Compact Syngas Solutions’ MicroHub gasification system converts local biomass into power and heat that are interoperable with existing sources. It reduces use of fuel wood by allowing 20% of energy for a tea factory to come from prunings of bushes, further to crop residues or bamboo. This anchor introduces mechanization by which farmers gain access to better soil protection and strengthens value chains for low-value and secondary biomass. The gasifier moreover returns 10-15% biochar, which boosts fertilizer efficiency and increases yields of tea plants and sequesters carbon for long-term environmental benefits. 

Advanced digital tools ensure on-time delivery, optimize costs, and accurately track carbon and biodiversity footprints – all while fostering equitable green jobs, empowering women in energy, and promoting circular economy principles. By having a gasifier, the factory elevates its role in sustainable land management and environmental stewardship.

The project aims to decarbonize the tea sector’s energy and input systems, beginning with operations in Kenya. Specific objectives include:

• Operating a 500kW MicroHub gasifier for 8,000 hours using waste prunings, bamboo, and other dispersed biomass to demonstrate reliable and cost-effective performance

• Reducing the emission intensity of made tea by 30% through displacement of diesel and fuelwood, improved fertilizer use, and carbon sequestration in soils

• Establishing a new business model linking energy purchase with results-based payments for climate and community outcomes

• Developing a governance framework that incorporates environmental and social safeguards, including quality assurance and chain-of-custody systems

• Creating 50 new skilled jobs in biomass aggregation, gasifier operation, and monitoring – more than half of which will be held by women and youth

• Establishing an investment and contract pipeline for scaling to five additional tea factories and broader agricultural and industrial applications

• Environmental: Improved nutrient management and soil health in tea farms have far-reaching benefits, enhancing water quality and flows in downstream catchments. Healthier soils not only retain water more effectively but also reduce erosion and runoff, contributing to a more resilient local water cycle. Furthermore, displacing fuelwood incineration in favour of cleaner energy sources allows for the expansion of biodiverse tree cover and the restoration of native forests – both critical for carbon sequestration and ecological balance. 

• Economical: By internalizing power production, phasing out fossil fuels and locking carbon away gasification technology paves the way for durable energy neutrality. Factories become less vulnerable to surging energy and fertiliser prices, improving margins. Energy and fertilizer represent a significant share of the tea sector’s costs. By reducing these through improved energy and soil management, factories and governments can redirect savings towards initiatives that drive diversification, boost competitiveness, and improve livelihoods.