Star Metro - CHAR Tech Receives $CAD 10M Commitment From BMI Towards 50,000 tonne per Year Espanola Biocarbon Project

The project will be located at Bioveld North, the former pulp and paper mill site in Espanola, Ontario, which BMI recently acquired with a focus on putting wood back to work in Northern Ontario.

The Espanola project is expected to produce up to 50,000 tonnes of biocarbon per year, representing five times the production capacity of the partners' Thorold Renewable Energy Facility.

The project's final scope and BMI's final capital allocation will be determined through completion of the engineering and design study.

The proposed facility would convert locally sourced wood waste and forestry residuals into low-carbon biocarbon and synthetic gas, with the potential to valorize the gas, including either direct use on site by the broader Bioveld North facility, or upgrading the synthetic gas to renewable natural gas ("RNG") in a later phase.

The engineering and design study is expected to be completed in calendar Q1 of 2026, and will define the technical scope, assess and secure available feedstock supply, and confirm the integration requirements of CHAR Tech's high-temperature pyrolysis platform into the Espanola site's existing industrial infrastructure, including utilities, biomass handling, logistics, and production scaling.

Northern Ontario's substantial forestry residual supply, combined with the site's existing infrastructure, provides a clear pathway to rapid redevelopment at scale.

"The Espanola site, with significant access to biomass materials, wastes and residuals, gives us the opportunity to scale our technology well beyond what was possible at Thorold," said Andrew White, CEO of CHAR Tech. "This study is about defining the details needed to move from development into construction on a larger, more integrated facility located within one of Canada's most significant forestry regions."

"BMI acquired the Espanola site to bring it back to life and return it to productive industrial use," said Paul Veldman, CEO of The BMI Group. "Partnering with CHAR Tech allows us to move quickly into detailed planning and construction. This project is a cornerstone of our vision to put wood back to work through innovation, full-fibre utilization, and clean-energy production. Espanola is a long-term asset with the potential to create durable jobs, strengthen forestry supply chains, and anchor a new generation of low-carbon industry in the North."

The project reflects BMI's strategy of pairing proven clean technologies with irreplaceable legacy industrial infrastructure to enable scalable, full-fibre utilization. This progression is expected to be illustrative of how CHAR Tech and BMI intend to continue to move a growing pipeline of projects forward.

The Espanola redevelopment is intended to re-establish the site as a major industrial employer and clean energy anchor in Northern Ontario, demonstrating how existing industrial assets can be repurposed to support sustainable forestry, create high-value jobs, and put wood back to work for the next century of Northern growth.

About CHAR Technologies Ltd.

CHAR Tech (TSXV:YES)(FSE:68K) is a Canadian clean-technology company developing first-in-kind high-temperature pyrolysis ("HTP") systems that process unmerchantable wood and organic waste to generate two renewable energy revenue streams, renewable natural gas or green hydrogen, and a solid biocarbon that serves as a carbon-neutral, drop-in replacement for metallurgical coal.

CHAR Tech's HTP platform is also advancing a new vertical focused on the permanent destruction of PFAS in wastewater biosolids. Operating at temperatures sufficient to break down long-chain fluorinated compounds, the system enables municipalities and industrial operators to eliminate PFAS while converting biosolids into energy and low-carbon solid products.

About The BMI Group

The BMI Group specializes in ready-stating and re-futuring strategic properties for high-impact, multi-use developments across industrial, commercial, residential, and hospitality sectors. With a focus on enhancing social and economic potential through multi-sector collaboration, BMI, in partnership with Business EQ, delivers new opportunities for investment, innovation, and community revitalization.

For more information, please visit: www.thebmigroup.ca

For further information, please contact:

Website: www.chartechnologies.com

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Service Provider (as the term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the accuracy of this news release.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements contained in this press release contain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of Canadian securities laws ("forward-looking statements") about CHAR and its business and operations. The words "may", "would", "will", "intend", "anticipate", "expect" and similar expressions as they relate to CHAR, are intended to identify forward-looking information. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements relating to the timing for full facility construction, securing project financing, expectations regarding the offtake agreements, future plans, operations and activities, expectations regarding the scale up of production, and other statements that are not historical facts. Such statements reflect CHAR's current views and ‎intentions with respect to future events, and current information available to CHAR, and are subject to ‎certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including, among others, those risk factors discussed or referred to in CHAR's disclosure documents filed with the securities regulatory authorities in certain provinces of Canada, including the Management Discussion & Analysis dated January 28th, 2025 for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2024, and available under CHAR's profile on www.sedar.com . Any such forward-looking information is expressly qualified in its ‎entirety by this cautionary statement. Moreover, CHAR does not assume responsibility for the accuracy or ‎completeness of such forward-looking information. The forward-looking information included in this press release ‎is made as of the date of this press release and CHAR undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise ‎any forward-looking information, other than as required by applicable law.

SOURCE: CHAR Technologies Ltd.

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire

O.Lessard--SMC