'Super giant reed' biomass could replace fossil fuels for power generation

Inside the company's factory, hundreds of super giant reed seedlings are grown in glass bottles.

"Once the reed is established, it can be harvested multiple times over the next 15 to 20 years, streamlining the planting process and boosting productivity," said Song.

Since 2012, the company has collected over 1,000 samples of wild giant reed germplasms. Using a large germplasm collection and gene database, these reeds have undergone several years of targeted breeding.

"Biomass is long recognized as a potential substitute for fossil fuel. However, existing biomass resources like agricultural waste often have inconsistent calorific values and quality, making them unsuitable for large-scale industrial use," Song said.

In response, Landuo Biotech decided to scale up industrial production to cultivate large numbers of resource plants with high quality and low cost, according to the manager.

The company's annual production of super giant reed now reaches 1.2 billion plants, covering an area of about 113,000 hectares, according to Song.

Wang Fan, deputy secretary-general of the China Energy Research Society, highlighted in an interview with China Economic Times that each ton of super giant reed produced absorbs 1.7 tons of carbon dioxide from the air. Its carbon sequestration capacity is 25 to 50 times that of the average for forests in China.

"Super giant reed is one of the strongest carbon capturers in the plant world," he said. "Utilizing it to produce resources and bio-based materials not only offers alternatives to fossil fuels, but also continuously sequesters carbon, making the energy industry carbon-negative."

By the end of last year, over 3,300 hectares of super giant reed had been planted across 53 regions in China, including Hubei, Hunan, Hebei and Hainan provinces.

The strong adaptability of super giant reed makes it well-suited for growing on non-cultivated land such as beaches, wetlands, saline-alkaline land, degraded soil and abandoned mine sites.

"The reeds not only contribute to ecological restoration of soils and waters but also could help develop local industries such as livestock and poultry feed, green hydrogen, and green natural gas," Song said.

Liu Kun and Li Shangyi contributed to this story.