Ithaka Institut

The Ithaka Institute

The Ithaka Institute is an international scientific network for carbon strategies. It is a non-profit research foundation headquartered in Europe, with independent offices in Germany, the USA, and Nepal. Over the past decade, Ithaka has become a leading developer in atmospheric carbon cycling, nano-carbon materials, and climate mitigation strategies. The Institute is renowned for its expertise in the production, post-production treatment, and application of biochar. Ithaka established the European Biochar Certificate and developed the first C-sink standards, including those for biochar, enhanced weathering, trees, and construction materials. In East Asia and Latin America, we are involved in food security, soil fertility, and reforestation projects. However, the roots of our institute lie in viticulture, and with three vineyards in Andalusia, the South of France, and the Swiss Alps, we conduct practical research to adapt high-quality natural winemaking to climate change.

The Ithaka Institute offers carbon-intelligent solutions, including the use of carbon-positive building materials, increased biomass production in the urban environment, fostering biodiversity, improving green water cycles and promoting carbon recycling.

Network of unconventional thinkers

The Ithaka Institute's team is made up of people who are not just specialized in their respective disciplines but who, as in an ecosystem, are tightly linked with each other, forming a knowledge network.

The research foundation's laboratories and greenhouses are located in Zurich but also in the forest and gardens of the world, where practical methods and strategies for an ecologically and economically sustainable carbon farming culture are being developed. The comprehensive master plan ranges from soil activation, nutrient cycling, and carbon sequestration to eco-stabilisation through biodiversity and mixed cultures and testing smart material cycles and alternative ways of producing bioenergy.

The Ithaka Institute disseminates most of its findings not only to interested groups but also to the general public through education, consultations, publications, and the media.

To understand an ecosystem, especially from a scientific point of view, we need to take a step forward, looking at the whole system from the inside.