For Andrew White (ChemE 0T8, MASc 1T0), there’s nothing cooler than being an entrepreneur – unless it’s being a cutting-edge, green entrepreneur. Andrew’s startup, CHAR Technologies Ltd. – based on his MASc thesis work supervised by Professor Don Kirk (ChemE), cleans bio-gas – the naturally occurring gas emitted from any decomposing organic waste – by manipulating the chemistry of the waste itself. It even turns the byproduct into a useful, soil-restoring fertilizer.
On April 27, 2023, CHAR signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Lake Nipigon Forest Management Inc. (LNFMI) to collaboratively develop, build, own and operate a wood waste and residuals to renewable natural gas (RNG) and biocarbon facility in Lake Nipigon, Northern Ontario. LNFMI is a forest management co-operative, made up of four local First Nation Communities that hold the Sustainable Forest License on the Lake Nipigon Forest.
CHAR’s proposed high temperature pyrolysis facility will annually convert 75,000 tonnes of wood waste and residuals supplied by the LNFMI to 500,000 gigajoules of RNG and 10,000 tonnes of biocarbon. The current timeline for initial commercial operation is 2025.