CHAR Tech Receives Final ESA Approval at Thorold Facility, Clearing Kiln for Burner Startup
TSSA sign-off remains the final regulatory step before Phase 1 can move into full commercial production.
Sentiment and the balance of points
Rhea-AI Sentiment reads the wording of the document, how positive or negative its language is on a 1 to 5 scale. The balance of points shown with the takes weighs what the document actually discloses, so the two can disagree, for example when a trial that missed its main goal is described in upbeat language.
Rhea-AI Summary
CHAR Technologies (CTRNF) received final electrical approval from the ESA for its Thorold facility, clearing the Phase 1 kiln for startup. The facility is owned equally by CHAR Tech and The BMI Group.
TSSA approval remains pending, with its visit scheduled for next week following this week's kiln burner startup. This is the final regulatory step before full commercial production. CHAR Tech maintains its timeline for commercial ramp-up through October and increasing production and revenue through year-end 2026. Phase 1 is designed to produce up to 5,500 tonnes of biocarbon annually, with customers including ArcelorMittal Dofasco under an offtake agreement. Phase 2 will add a second kiln, equipment to produce renewable natural gas and an onsite pipeline injection point.
How this balance works
Rhea-AI gives every point it takes from this document a weight. Minor counts 1, Moderate 3 and Major 9, so one Major point outweighs several Minor ones. The bar adds up the weights on each side, and when neither side holds more than 65% of the total the balance reads Mixed.
It reads the document as published, with the same rules for every company, and it does not look at what the market expected or at how the stock traded, so a point can be objectively good on a day the stock falls.
Rhea-AI Sentiment measures something else, the tone of the wording.
Hollow bars mark forward-looking points. How the balance works
Positive
- Major point$8,000,000 project-level equity investment from BMI resulted in equal ownership of Thorold with CHAR Tech.
- Moderate pointFinal ESA electrical approval allows Thorold's Phase 1 kiln to reach operating temperature.
- Moderate point. Forward-looking: it has not happened yet and may not happen.Commercial ramp-up through October remains CHAR Tech's timeline, with production and revenue increasing through year-end 2026.
- Moderate point. Forward-looking: it has not happened yet and may not happen.Up to 5,500 tonnes annually is Phase 1's designed biocarbon capacity, serving customers including ArcelorMittal Dofasco under an offtake agreement.
- Moderate point$6,438,168 in Ontario funding was approved for the project in December 2022.
- Moderate point$2,259,142 in Ontario funding was approved for the project in December 2025.
- Moderate point$4,938,168 in federal funding was provided through the Investments in Forest Industry Transformation program.
2 minor points
- Minor point. Forward-looking: it has not happened yet and may not happen.Phase 2 expansion will add a second kiln, renewable natural gas equipment and an onsite pipeline injection point.
- Minor point$1,500,000 in federal funding was provided through the Southern Ontario Jobs and Growth Fund.
Negative
- Moderate pointTSSA approval remains pending, the final regulatory step before full commercial production; its visit is scheduled for next week.
AI-generated analysis. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.
TORONTO, ON / ACCESS Newswire / October 22, 2026 / CHAR Technologies Ltd. ("CHAR Tech" or the "Company") (TSXV:YES)(OTC PINK:CTRNF)(FSE:68K), a leader in sustainable biomass energy solutions, is pleased to announce that the ESA has granted final electrical approval for the Thorold Renewable Energy Facility (the "Thorold Facility"), jointly owned 50/50 by the Company and The BMI Group ("BMI"). The approval allows the Thorold Facility to bring the Phase 1 high-temperature pyrolysis ("HTP") kiln up to operating temperature.
ESA approval is the first of the two regulatory sign-offs the Company identified in its October 1 announcement of Phase 1 mechanical and electrical substantial completion. The second and final sign-off would come from the TSSA, which is scheduled at the Thorold Facility next week, following this week's kiln burner startup. This is the last regulatory step before Phase 1 moves into full commercial production.
The Company remains on the timeline set out in its October 1 announcement, with commercial ramp-up through October and production and revenue increasing through the end of 2026. Phase 1 is designed to produce up to 5,500 tonnes of biocarbon per year for customers including ArcelorMittal Dofasco, which will use it in place of fossil carbon in its steelmaking under its offtake agreement with the Company.
"Our team has done an outstanding job getting the Thorold Facility ready for final TSSA approval," said Andrew White, Chief Executive Officer of CHAR Tech. "That approval is the last step before commercial production, and what we prove at the Thorold Facility carries directly into every project we have in development."
Phase 2 will add a second HTP kiln, methanation equipment to upgrade synthetic gas into renewable natural gas ("RNG"), and an onsite pipeline injection point. When the Thorold Facility begins producing RNG, it will be the first facility in the world to produce RNG and biocarbon simultaneously from wood waste.
QUICK FACTS
- In December 2022, the Government of Ontario announced approved funding of
$6,438,168 for the project through the Forest Sector Investment and Innovation Program, a business support program designed to improve productivity and innovation, enhance competitiveness, support new market access and strengthen regional economies. - In December 2025, the Government of Ontario announced approved funding of
$2,259,142 for the project through the Forest Biomass Program, a business support program that is a key element of Ontario's actions to drive forest sector growth. - The Government of Canada provided
$4,938,168 for the project through the Investments in Forest Industry Transformation program and also provided$1,500,000 for the project through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario Jobs and Growth Fund. - The BMI Group made a
$8,000,000 project-level equity investment directly into the CHAR Tech Thorold Renewable Energy Facility, resulting in 50/50 ownership of the facility between CHAR Tech and BMI.
About CHAR Technologies Ltd.
CHAR Tech (TSXV:YES)(OTC PINK:CTRNF)(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.
For further information, please contact:
| Andrew White Chief Executive Officer CHAR Technologies Ltd. E: andrew.white@chartechnologies.com T: 866 521-3654 | Galen Cranston Director of Stakeholder Relations CHAR Technologies Ltd. E: gcranston@chartechnologies.com T: 647-546-5633 |
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 Tech, are intended to identify forward-looking information. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements relating to the timing of regulatory approvals, commissioning and commercial ramp-up of the Thorold Facility, the technical and market validation of the Company's HTP process and biocarbon products, the timing of Phase 2 construction and RNG production, securing project financing, expectations regarding the feedstock supply and 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 Tech's current views and intentions with respect to future events, and current information available to CHAR Tech, and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including, among others, those risk factors discussed or referred to in CHAR Tech's disclosure documents filed with the securities regulatory authorities in certain provinces of Canada, including the Management Discussion & Analysis dated January 27th, 2026 for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2025, and available under CHAR Tech's profile on www.sedarplus.ca. Any such forward-looking information is expressly qualified in its entirety by this cautionary statement. Moreover, CHAR Tech 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 Tech 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
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