Energy transition 2.0: Why CHAR Technologies is thinking much further ahead than Enviva and why Plug Power is still dreaming

Enviva as a trailblazer

The now insolvent company Enviva is considered a pioneer in biomass. As the former largest producer of industrial pellets, the company, which has since disappeared from the market, demonstrated that biomass is not a niche product for wood-burning stoves, but a base-load energy source for power plants in Europe and Asia. As the initially successful restructuring at the end of 2024 and the construction of the new plant in Epes, Alabama, showed, the demand for biomass remains unbroken. Enviva established supply chains, but the business model remained technically simple and unprofitable at its core, as wood was dried, pressed, and burned. The margin here was primarily in volume. The company was unable to achieve this critical mass. CHAR Technologies, on the other hand, uses the same raw material but refines it through technology into products with a much higher market value.

CHAR Technologies and double value creation

At the heart of CHAR is high-temperature pyrolysis (HTP). In this process, biomass is heated to over 800°C in the absence of oxygen. The result is chemical separation into two streams. One is CleanFyre™, a biochar that is considered an important building block for the steel industry. According to reports by the International Energy Agency (IEA), metallurgical coal demand must decline by 2030 in order to meet climate targets. Steel companies cannot simply run their blast furnaces on electricity; they need carbon to reduce iron ore. CHAR's biochar can partially replace fossil coking coal as a drop-in substitute in existing blast furnaces without steel mills having to convert their facilities. ArcelorMittal's entry into the market proves that this works. The global market leader has invested directly in CHAR through its XCarb™ Innovation Fund and secured supply rights through a long-term purchase agreement. Secondly, the pyrolysis process produces an energy-rich gas. CHAR purifies this gas into methane-rich RNG, which can be fed directly into the existing natural gas grid.

The Plug Power comparison: Reality beats vision

This is where the comparison with Plug Power gets exciting. Plug Power is a pioneer in the hydrogen economy and is building an impressive ecosystem of electrolysers and fuel cells. But the problem is infrastructure, as hydrogen cannot easily be transported in old natural gas pipelines, and the cost of green hydrogen is often still too high. CHAR Technologies completely circumvents this hurdle. Its RNG is chemically identical to natural gas. It does not require new pipelines, new heating systems for end customers, or billions in subsidies for grid expansion. It is the pragmatic, immediately available solution for decarbonizing gas grids. While Plug Power is building a new world, CHAR is decarbonizing the old one, which is often the more profitable business.

Commercialization is underway at CHAR: Thorold and Saint-Félicien

CHAR is no longer a theoretical story, as its flagship project in Thorold, Ontario, nears completion. As the company reported, Phase 1 of biochar production is already operational, and Phase 2 for RNG production is under construction. With a capacity of 10,000 tons of biochar and 500,000 gigajoules of RNG per year, Thorold is becoming a symbol of expansion. In addition, CHAR is pushing ahead with the project in Saint-Félicien, Quebec. In this region, the company benefits from extremely low electricity prices and a massive availability of biomass from the forestry industry. The model is highly scalable, because wherever there is wood waste and a gas network, a CHAR facility can be established.

Conclusion: CHAR Technologies combines the best of both worlds

For investors, CHAR Technologies offers a rare combination. You are investing in the demand for renewable solutions for industry, coupled with the technology multiple of a cleantech company. As with any technology ramp-up, there are risks associated with scaling, but the partnership with ArcelorMittal and support from Canadian government funds validate the technology. In a world desperately seeking solutions to make steel production "green" and gas networks climate-neutral, CHAR Technologies sits at the intersection of two markets worth billions of dollars. The stock is extremely exciting due to its promising business model.