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Updated: October 10, 2025

German maker of biochar technology sets up office in Portland

An exterior view of a building with storefronts. Photo / Courtesy The Boulos Co. A German manufacturer of carbonization equipment used to produce “biochar” found the right size lease at 565 Congress St. in downtown Portland.
By Laurie Schreiber

Pyreg Inc., a German manufacturer of carbonization equipment used to produce “biochar” — a carbonized product with a variety of applications — has leased 360 square feet of office space in a 54,544-square-foot office and retail building at 565 Congress St. in downtown Portland from Pachios Brothers I LLC. 

The transaction was arranged by Nate Stevens and Samantha Marinko of the Boulos Co.

Known as the Strand Building, it used to be a theater; impressive period details still exist throughout the building. Other features include high ceilings and large windows overlooking Congress Street.

“It made sense to open an office in Portland,” said Will Marquis, an executive vice president with Pyreg.

The search for a space went very smoothly, said Marinko.

An empty room has large windows.
Photo / Courtesy The Boulos Co.
Pyreg was looking for a small office for occasional meetings, such as this space, also at 565 Congress St. and similar to the Pyreg lease.

“Will was looking for a remote office for occasional meetings so this building fit his needs perfectly,” she said.

Other tenants include professional office users, from architects to nonprofits to tech companies. The building is also popular with startups, Marinko noted. A few small offices remain vacant, although two spaces have been leased since Pyreg went in.

Maine entrée

Pyreg technology first came to Maine in 2022, when a startup called Standard Biocarbon Corp., founded by Frederick and Tom Horton, received delivery of two Pyreg P1500 pyrolizers as part of the development of a biochar production facility in Penobscot County town of Enfield.

Biochar is a granular carbon substance produced when organic matter is decomposed thermally in an oxygen-starved chamber, a process called pyrolysis. The material can be used in agriculture, environmental remediation and stormwater management, along with other emerging uses in cement, pavement and advanced materials.

U.S. presence

Pyreg first established a presence in the U.S. in 2017, when it had one unit in California for turning sewage sludge into biochar.

The order from Standard Biocarbon coincided with Pyreg’s push to expand in the U.S. 

In 2022, Pyreg set up an office next to Standard Biocarbon’s offices at 2 Portland Fish Pier in Portland.

Marquis has a degree in forestry from Colorado State University, spent 30 years in financial services and joined Pyreg in 2023 as the company’s first U.S. hire to build its U.S. and Canada presence. 

 It turned out that he spends half his time on the road at industry conferences and working with contractors in other states. Because Pyreg’s Portland office wouldn’t be fully staffed for the near-term, the move to 565 Congress St. made sense because it was smaller and saved money.

Global presence

Founded in 2009, Pyreg has over 60 systems in operation around the world, including nine processing sewage sludge. 

The biochar industry is well-known in Europe;  the U.S. is just getting started, Marquis said.

“The hardest part in biochar is not the equipment and the feedstock,” he said “It’s finding the customer to support it. Not everyone understands what biochar is, how they can utilize it.”

In the U.S., in addition to the units with Standard Biocarbon, Pyreg is working with interests in California and Pennsylvania that are converting sewage sludge into biochar. Units will be shipped shortly to Indiana for processing chicken manure, said Marquis.

An agricultural operation in Florida is processing waste material as a soil amendment.

There’s plenty of opportunity for expansion in the U.S he said.

“The U.S. has got so much available waste and material that can be processed into biochar,” he said.

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