Mercer Peace River Pulp Ltd. and Svante Co₂ Capture Demonstration Unit

Rhea-AI Summary

Mercer (Nasdaq: MERC) subsidiary Mercer Peace River Pulp Ltd. and Svante have begun operating a carbon dioxide capture demonstration unit at the Peace River pulp mill in northern Alberta.

The pilot will test Svante’s solid sorbent technology on biogenic CO2 from the mill recovery boiler flue gas, following a completed FEL-2 pre‑FEED that assessed design, site integration, cost and risk. The demonstration is expected to run for approximately six months to produce technical and operational data to inform any future engineering phases and commercial-scale planning. Further advancement depends on demonstration results and additional economic, technical and commercial considerations.

Key Figures

Demonstration duration 6 months Planned length of carbon capture demonstration at Peace River pulp mill

Market Reality Check

$2.08 Last Close

Volume Volume 708,443 is close to the 20-day average 723,573 (relative 0.98). normal

Technical Shares trade below the 200-day MA of 3.54, reflecting a weak longer-term trend.

Peers on Argus

Ahead of this carbon capture update, MERC was up 2.14% while peers showed mixed moves: CLW, MAGN and ITP were positive, SLVM negative, and VRS flat, indicating stock-specific rather than broad sector momentum.

Historical Context

Date	Event	Sentiment	Move	Catalyst
Nov 18	Investor conferences	Neutral	+1.9%	CFO participation in December leveraged finance and industrials conferences.
Nov 06	Q3 2025 earnings	Negative	-2.1%	Negative Operating EBITDA, large net loss and higher costs versus prior year.
Oct 20	Q3 call notice	Neutral	+0.4%	Announcement of timing and access details for Q3 2025 results call.
Jul 31	Q2 2025 earnings	Negative	-18.6%	Challenging quarter with wider net loss and dividend suspension amid weak demand.
Jul 09	Q2 call notice	Neutral	+8.7%	Scheduling and access information for the Q2 2025 earnings conference call.

Pattern Detected

Recent weak earnings with negative EBITDA and net losses coincided with share price declines, while neutral conference-related news saw modest or mixed positive reactions.

Recent Company History

Over the last six months, Mercer reported challenging Q2 and Q3 2025 results with negative Operating EBITDA and wider net losses, and suspended its quarterly dividend. These earnings events on Jul 31 and Nov 6 saw share price declines within 24 hours. Conference call and investor conference announcements on Jul 9, Oct 20, and Nov 18 were largely informational and aligned with mild positive moves. Today’s carbon capture demonstration update fits into a broader decarbonization and operational efficiency narrative alongside ongoing cost-saving initiatives.

Regulatory & Risk Context

Active S-3 Shelf Registration 2025-08-08

$750,000,000 registered capacity

An effective S-3 shelf dated Aug 8, 2025 registers up to $750,000,000 of securities, including debt, common and preferred stock, and warrants. Proceeds may be used for general corporate purposes, debt repayment, capital expenditures or strategic investments, giving the company flexibility to raise capital as needed.

Market Pulse Summary

This announcement details a 6‑month carbon capture demonstration at the Peace River pulp mill, testing solid sorbent technology on biogenic CO₂ emissions. It follows prior engineering work (FEL‑2 / pre‑FEED) and aims to gather operational data for potential scale‑up. In context of earlier quarters marked by losses and cost pressures, investors may watch how such projects fit into longer‑term decarbonization, capital allocation, and the company’s broader transformation efforts.

Key Terms

carbon capture technical

"evaluate Svante’s solid sorbent carbon capture technology on biogenic CO₂ emissions"

Carbon capture is the process of removing carbon dioxide (CO2) from industrial emissions or the air and then storing it safely underground or turning it into useful products, like locking smoke from a factory into a sealed container or recycling it into new material. Investors care because the technology can cut a company’s reported emissions, create new revenue streams or credits, and reduce regulatory or climate-related risk, all of which affect future costs and valuations.

solid sorbent technical

"evaluate Svante’s solid sorbent carbon capture technology on biogenic CO₂ emissions"

A solid sorbent is a porous solid material that captures and holds gases or liquids on its surface, functioning like a sponge that soaks up and stores a specific substance. Investors care because these materials are central to technologies such as carbon capture, gas separation, air purification and industrial processing; their effectiveness, cost, durability and reusability directly affect a technology’s operating costs, scalability and commercial potential.

recovery boiler technical

"biogenic CO₂ emissions from the mill’s recovery boiler flue gas"

A recovery boiler is a large industrial furnace that burns leftover process byproducts—most commonly in pulp and paper mills—to reclaim dissolved chemicals and produce steam or electricity. For investors, its performance matters because it reduces raw‑material and energy costs, enables plants to meet environmental rules, and a failure can cause costly shutdowns or unexpected capital spending, much like a home generator that both saves on bills and keeps the lights on.

flue gas technical

"biogenic CO₂ emissions from the mill’s recovery boiler flue gas"

Flue gas is the mixture of gases released from industrial smokestacks or power plants after burning fuel, similar to a car’s exhaust. It typically contains carbon dioxide, water vapor, nitrogen, oxygen, and small amounts of pollutants like sulfur dioxide or particulates. Investors care because flue gas composition affects regulatory compliance, operating costs for pollution controls, potential liabilities, and eligibility for emissions credits or low-carbon incentives, all of which influence a company’s financial outlook.

front-end engineering and design technical

"previously announced Front-End Engineering and Design Phase 2 (FEL-2 / pre-FEED)"

Front-end engineering and design is the work of building the parts of a website or app that users see and interact with — like the layout, buttons, visuals, and how pages respond to clicks or taps. For investors it matters because a clear, fast, and attractive user interface is like a well-designed storefront: it helps attract and keep customers, improves conversion and engagement, and can lower support and development costs, all of which affect revenue and growth potential.

pre-feed technical

"Front-End Engineering and Design Phase 2 (FEL-2 / pre-FEED)"

A pre-feed is the early planning stage for a large industrial project when engineers and managers test different concepts, outline scope, make rough cost and schedule estimates, and identify major technical and commercial risks before formal design and construction begin. For investors, it signals a project is still preliminary—promising if the idea looks viable, but with significant uncertainty about final costs, timing and whether the company will commit the capital to proceed, much like reviewing rough blueprints before deciding to build.

biogenic co₂ technical

"carbon capture technology on biogenic CO₂ emissions from the mill’s recovery boiler"

Biogenic CO₂ is carbon dioxide that comes from recent biological sources such as plants, trees, crops, soil, or animals — for example from burning wood, composting, fermentation, or decomposition — rather than from ancient fossil fuels. For investors it matters because regulators, buyers and sustainability reports often treat biogenic CO₂ differently when judging a company’s climate impact and carbon accounting; understanding the source is like knowing whether a bill came from a current paycheck or a long‑buried loan.

AI-generated analysis. Not financial advice.

NEW YORK, Dec. 18, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mercer International Inc. (“Mercer” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq: MERC), a global forest products company with operations in Germany, the U.S., and Canada, announces that its subsidiary, Mercer Peace River Pulp Ltd. (MPR), and Svante Technologies Inc. (Svante) have commenced operation of a previously announced carbon dioxide (CO₂) capture demonstration unit at the Mercer Peace River pulp mill in northern Alberta. The pilot project is designed to evaluate Svante’s solid sorbent carbon capture technology on biogenic CO₂ emissions from the mill’s recovery boiler flue gas.

This stage builds on the previously announced Front-End Engineering and Design Phase 2 (FEL-2 / pre-FEED). That phase evaluated design, site integration, cost and risk assessment, and options for potential future commercial-scale deployment at the mill. The anticipated 6-month demonstration is intended to generate the technical and operational data needed to support the next engineering phase and longer-term planning.

“Commissioning this demonstration unit is an important and cost-efficient step for our Peace River team. It allows us to evaluate carbon capture performance in our operating environment and gather practical data on what would be required for any future scale-up,” said Bill Adams, Chief Sustainability Officer and Senior Vice President, Canadian Pulp Operations. Bill continued, “The results from this on-site demonstration will help us evaluate the decarbonization potential of this technology for biogenic emissions and inform longer-term planning across our pulp operations.”

“We are pleased to see this project advance into on-site demonstration operations,” said Scott Gardner, President of Svante Development Company, Svante’s project development business unit. “Testing our technology in an operating pulp mill environment is an important step in gathering the information needed to assess future opportunities for commercial-scale carbon capture in the wider pulp and paper industry.”

Any further advancement of the project beyond the demonstration phase will be dependent on a number of factors, including, among other things, the results of the demonstration and further other economic, technical and commercial considerations.

About Mercer International Inc.

Mercer International Inc. is a global forest products company with operations in Germany, the USA, and Canada. Its consolidated annual production capacity is 2.1 million tonnes of pulp (air-dried tonnes, ADTMs), 960 million board feet of lumber, 210 thousand cubic meters of CLT, 45 thousand cubic meters of glulam, 17 million pallets, and 230,000 metric tonnes of biofuels. For further information on the company, please visit its website at mercerint.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

The preceding includes forward-looking statements which involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties which may cause our actual results in future periods to differ materially from forecasted results. Words such as "expects", "anticipates", "are optimistic that", "projects", "intends", "designed", "will", "believes", "estimates", "may", "could" and variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Among those factors which could cause actual results to differ materially are the following: the highly cyclical nature of our business, raw material costs, our level of indebtedness, competition, foreign exchange and interest rate fluctuations, our use of derivatives, expenditures for capital projects, environmental regulation and compliance, disruptions to our production, market conditions and other risk factors listed from time to time in our SEC reports.

APPROVED BY: 

William D. McCartney
Chairman of the Board
+1 (604) 684-1099 

Juan Carlos Bueno 
Chief Executive Officer
+1 (604) 684-1099

FAQ

What is Mercer announcing with the Svante CO2 capture demonstration at Peace River (MERC)?

Mercer and Svante have started a 6-month on-site demonstration of Svante’s solid sorbent CO2 capture on biogenic flue gas at the Peace River pulp mill.

How long will the Svante demonstration at Mercer Peace River (MERC) run?

The demonstration is anticipated to run for approximately six months to gather operational and technical data.

What will the Mercer (MERC) pilot test at the Peace River pulp mill?

The pilot will evaluate Svante’s solid sorbent carbon capture performance on CO2 from the mill’s recovery boiler flue gas.

What is the purpose of the FEL-2 pre-FEED mentioned by Mercer (MERC)?

FEL-2 evaluated design, site integration, cost and risk and options for potential future commercial-scale deployment at the mill.

Will Mercer (MERC) build a full-scale carbon capture plant after the demonstration?

Any progression beyond the demonstration depends on the demonstration results and further economic, technical and commercial considerations.