Noviqtech (ASX: NVQ) subsidiary Coralia has become an affiliate member of Data Centres Australia (DCA), providing it with direct engagement across one of Australia’s fastest-growing infrastructure segments.
DCA aims to position Australia as a global hub for artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure investment and sustainable data centre development.
Affiliate membership will allow Coralia to pursue partnerships in sustainable data centre construction, as well as carbon removal opportunities, in the data centre and AI hyperscaler sectors, aligned with its high-integrity biochar carbon dioxide removal (CDR) platform.
Cement emissions
Data centres are typically built using high volumes of cement and concrete; however, cement production is currently responsible for 8% of global emissions annually and is the single biggest contributor to industrial sources of carbon pollution.
Biochar production supports embodied carbon reduction in cement and concrete applications by acting as a replacement filler, thus reducing the amount of carbon-intensive clinker ingredient used in construction.
It enables durable CDR and creates high-integrity biochar CDR offtake opportunities with data centres and hyperscalers.
High-growth market
Noviqtech executive director and Coralia managing director Timothy Brooks said DCA membership would help the company support the development of sustainable data centre initiatives in Australia.
“The data centre sector represents a high-growth market and joining DCA gives us strategic access to key decision makers across the data centre ecosystem,” he said.
“We believe biochar offers a unique solution for decarbonising cement used in data centre construction, delivering durable carbon removal in line with the industry’s net zero commitments.”
Reducing carbon in concrete
Coralia’s institutional-grade biochar portfolio provides a practical and scalable pathway to reduce embodied carbon in concrete used in data centre construction.
Biochar can be incorporated into cementitious materials to permanently sequester stable carbon within concrete structures; reduce reliance on high-emission clinker; lower life-cycle emissions of new builds and expansions; and support compliance with new sustainability frameworks and green building standards.
For data centre operators and hyperscalers seeking to neutralise residual emissions, biochar CDR can offer long-term carbon storage (up to thousands of years); measurable and auditable carbon removal, alignment with voluntary and compliance carbon markets, and integration with infrastructure development strategies.
Mr Brooks said DCA affiliate membership would be a “strategic market touchpoint” for integrating biochar supply, cement decarbonisation and carbon removal solutions into a unified offering for data centre developers and hyperscale operators.
Biochar project appointment
Coralia has appointed TFA Project Group to provide initial pre-feasibility engineering and project management support for the Great Barrier Reef Biochar Project in North Queensland, which aims to convert 2 million tonnes of biomass into agricultural-grade biochar and sequestering around 550,000t of carbon dioxide.
As one of Australia’s leading bioenergy engineering consultancies, TFA will leverage its expertise in renewable fuels and bioenergy engineering to provide a foundational technical and management framework for the project.
Mr Brooks said the engagement marked a significant step for the institutional-grade, large-scale biochar carbon removal initiative.
