When you are near a farm, you might notice a strong smell of poop. This smell comes partly from ammonia, a nitrogen compound released from animal poop and fertilisers. In countries like the Netherlands, where farming is intensive, the nitrogen build up is a serious problem. Why is nitrogen a problem? Nitrogen is crucial for fertilisers that help plants grow, but plants can't absorb it fast enough. About 50% of nitrogen in fertilisers is lost to the air or water, causing air pollution and harmful algae blooms that kill fish and damage our ecosystem. Our solution to the nitrogen problem is biochar. Biochar is made from agricultural waste like leftover plant stalks or wood chips and heated without oxygen, similar to how barbecue charcoal is made. With a biodegradable polymer coating, biochar acts like a sponge, trapping nitrogen and releasing it slowly, giving plants more time to absorb it. By this way, we use fertiliser more efficiently and we believe biochar is a gamechanger to the nitrogen problem.