REACH is the regulatory body for the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization, and Restriction of Chemicals within the EU. Under the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), REACH was adopted to improve the protection of human health and the environment from the risks that can be posed by chemicals while enhancing the competitiveness of the EU’s chemical industry.
REACH places the burden of proof on companies, who must identify, manage, and communicate the risks linked to the substances they manufacture and import in the EEA.
❖ Companies (producers and importers) registering a substance work collaboratively to collect information on the properties and uses of the subjective substance and assess the hazards and risk potential of the substance. This information is submitted collectively through the principle of “one substance, one registration” to ECHA.
❖ ECHA receives and evaluates individual registrations for their compliance. EU Member States evaluate substances, reviewing for clarification of human or environmental risks and assessing whether the risks of these substances can be managed.
❖ Once approved, the substance identification description & substance compositions are set for the substance, and a company wanting to register their substance must do so in coordination with the lead registrant & under the substance’s dossier.
ECHA fees for substance registration are shared proportionally by the companies who register their subjective substances. Fees are shared in a fair, transparent, and non-discriminatory manner, based on registered companies’ annual production of the subjective substance.
REACH impacts a wide range of companies in many sectors across the EU, including the European Economic Area (EEA) (i.e., Norway, Iceland & Liechtenstein). As biochar is produced from thermochemically modifying biomass, it is a substance subject to comply with REACH regulation.
You are legally subject to REACH regulations if you are based in the EEA and a biochar:
❖ Manufacturer/Producer
❖ Importer
❖ Distributor
❖ Downstream User
*The REACH compliance threshold for biochar is 1 ton annually, meaning if you deal with <1 ton of biochar annually, you are not subject to REACH regulation.
Companies based outside of the EEA exporting to EEA member states are NOT responsible under REACH. It is the responsibility of the importer based in the member states to ensure compliance. No matter your role in a biochar supply chain in the EEA, it is important to understand your company’s obligations to REACH regulations.
Yes. Substance registration is NOT required for:
❖ Waste, as defined in the EU's waste legislation. It is exempt from REACH, but a product recovered from waste is not exempt.
❖ Substances used in food or feedstuff, medicinal products, scientific research and development.
❖ Substances listed in Annex IV (substances posing minimal risk to human & environmental health) or substances occurring in nature listed in Annex V of REACH.
❖ Substances re-imported into the EEA.
Biochar has been accepted by ECHA to be registered within the charcoal dossier—EC No. 240-383-3. If you are producing or importing biochar within the EEA and your biochar fits within the criteria outlined in the charcoal dossier, you are legally obligated to register your biochar under the charcoal dossier.
COALSTER GmbH, the lead registrant of the charcoal dossier, has worked to expand the existing charcoal dossier to include all similar/comparable pyrolysis coals under the existing registration, further defining biochar under REACH. The charcoal dossier is being expanded to biochar:
❖ Due to strong similarities in feedstock, physical and chemical characteristics.
❖ To include all similar/comparable coals through the process of pyrolysis that are available today,
❖ To utilize the existing resource of the charcoal dossier, as substance registrations under REACH are expensive and capacity-heavy processes.
In 2023 ECHA agreed to broaden the charcoal dossier to include all pyrolysis coals, including the substance biochar. In 2024, a new dataset has been submitted to ECHA by COALSTER, which is currently under review.
REACH registration is a 6-step process:
1. Creation of a REACH-IT account
2. Evidence SME documentation
3. Laboratory analysis (*EBC laboratory analyses are accepted.)
4. Creation of inquiry dossier
5. Acquisition of Letter of Access (LoA)
6. Registration
❖ To learn more about the REACH Regulation, check out ECHA’s Guidance on registration.
❖ To learn more about registering your biochar, including substance identity description & substance composition details, check out the presentation provided by COALSTER GmbH: Procedure for the REACH Registration of Charcoal and Biochar EC-No. 240-383-3.
❖ COALSTER GmbH provides REACH registration services, leading the navigation for your company through the registration process. For more information visit their website at www.coalster.eu or, contact Marcus Schwantner & Sofia Veiga by email at charcoal@coalster.eu
