The Sino-German scientific symposium on Biochar Research was held from April 14th to 19th, 2013, at the University of Applied Sciences Trier, Germany. Yongguan Zhu, Director General of the Institute of Urban Environment (IUE), Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Prof. Micheal Bottlinger presided over this workshop, which was sponsored by the Sino-German Scientific Exchange Center of National Natural Science Foundation of China, and jointly organized by IUE and the University of Applied Sciences Trier. 32 lectures introduced the current situation and trends of biochar research in China and Germany, the development of biochar preparation technologies and relevant techniques, the environmental and agricultural benefits of biochar, the role of biochar in environmental remediation and pollution control, as well as safety evaluation, social and economic benefits and lifecycle analysis.

After the workshop, delegates visited the laboratory of Pyrolysis Experiment Devices and the pilot plant of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. They also visited the biochar agricultural demonstration station at the Center for Agricultural Technology of Augustenberg. Professor Yongguan Zhu discussed with Prof. Micheal Bottlinger about Sino-German and Sino-European cooperation on biochar research, waste management and pollution control, and reached agreements to establish a Sino-German Biochar Joint Research Center which will aim to conduct joint projects in the future.