Dec. 11, 2018 - Fire crews safely extinguished a minor fire at Great Northern Pellets in Upper Musquodoboit, N.S., on the weekend. 

Dec. 3, 2018 - The European Pellet Council, governing body of the ENplus certification for wood pellets, has announced the launch of a revision process for the scheme’s procedures and requirements. As part of ENplus efforts to constantly meet the needs of the pellet market, this third revision in the scheme’s history will factor in stakeholders’ feedback, as well as the latest scientific data and its own certification management experience.

Nov. 30, 2018 – Timberlands International Inc., a subsidiary of Active Energy Group (AEG), has received two five-year commercial cutting permits to harvest 100,000 m3 annually on the Great Northern Peninsula.

Nov. 29, 2018 – Pinnacle Renewable Holdings Inc. today announced that it has commenced initial pellet production at its new production facility in Smithers, British Columbia, which is owned 70 per cent by Pinnacle and 30 per cent by West Fraser Timber Co. through a limited partnership. 

Nov. 27, 2018 - The commissioning of an innovative Bioenergy Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) pilot plant at Drax Power Station has started with the first carbon dioxide expected to be captured in the coming weeks.

Nov. 22, 2018 - The Wood Pellet Association of Canada (WPAC) held a workshop on conducting incident investigations at the Westin Vancouver Airport Hotel on Nov. 20. This workshop was produced in co-operation with WorkSafeBC and media partner Canadian Biomass magazine. The 35 participants included pellet plant operators, maintenance personnel, and representatives from insurance companies, universities, fire detection equipment suppliers, and WorkSafeBC.

Nov. 26, 2018 - Today, SBP chief executive officer, Carsten Huljus, named the members of the SBP Standards Committee who will take up their positions in January 2019.

Nov. 21, 2018 - A methodology was recently developed that uses satellite imagery to estimate availability of logging residue across Canada, and includes evaluation of imagery estimates with field data from a large number of plots.

Nov. 12, 2018 - The vision of the Sustainable Biomass Program's (SBP) balanced board representing multi-stakeholder views will become a reality in January 2019. Much work has gone into devising the right organisational structure that will completely transform SBP and align it with best practice as demonstrated by leading sustainability standards.

Nov. 5, 2018 – The industry advisory committee helping to organize DEMO International 2020 got its first peek at the active logging site just north of Ottawa/Gatineau, and early indicators are very positive. 

Nov. 1, 2018 - As Sustainable Biomass Program (SBP) readies itself for the transformational step towards becoming a multi-stakeholder governed organisation. SBP’s independent Chair, Francis Sullivan, talks about the making the vision a reality:

Dec. 4, 2018 - To mark the recent commissioning of their new biocarbon plant in Mississauga, Ont., CHAR Technologies has produced a video tour of the site.

Nov. 23, 2018 - The federal government is giving Competitive Green Technologies a leg up to research and develop a biomass-based nylon for automobile manufacturing and other industries.

Nov. 21, 2018 - In plotting a course for the future, U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) researchers followed a road map from 1916. Their guide – a journal article penned by two chemistry professors from Johns Hopkins University – illuminated a path toward a groundbreaking new method to make the compound acrylonitrile from renewable sources.

Nov. 19, 2018 – Attis Industries Inc. today released the second video in a series designed to offer additional information on the technologies and bio-based products offered under the Company’s Innovations division.

Nov. 14, 2018 - In collaboration with fellow researchers, chemists at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have developed a process that, according to initial calculations, can facilitate economically removing the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The latest World Climate Report (IPCC Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5 C) acknowledges the global relevance of the process.

Dec. 14, 2018 – Xebec Adsorption Inc., a global provider of clean energy solutions, is pleased to announce that it entered into an arm’s length transactional agreement on Dec. 6, 2018 to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Compressed Air International Inc. (CAI) for a purchase price of CAD$2,200,000, subject to customary closing adjustments, effective Jan. 1, 2019. CAI’s principals will remain with CAI after the acquisition to optimize CAI’s integration in Xebec’s industrial compressed air treatment business.

Dec. 12, 2018 – Neste Corporation has made the final investment decision on additional renewable products production capacity in Singapore. The decision is based on a growing global market demand for low-carbon solutions in transport and cities, aviation, polymers and chemicals.

Dec. 12, 2018 – Benefuel Inc. recently responded to British Columbia’s publicized climate change plan that included an expanded ‘Low Carbon Fuel Standard,' by announcing that they have begun a site search and discussions with interested parties on a few specific locations for their next state-of-the-art biodiesel facility. This announcement has assisted Benefuel in prioritizing its expansion efforts, given that British Columbia has specific target volumes for biodiesel blending and carbon reductions, as well as enticing funding support.

Dec. 11, 2018 - Air travellers are increasingly interested in reducing the CO2 emissions of their flights. Finnair announced last summer that as of early 2019 it will start offering its customers a new service allowing customers to offset the CO2 emissions of their flights by funding emissions reduction projects or carbon sinks, or by supporting the use of biofuels.

Dec. 7, 2018 – Gevo Inc. and Renmatix today announced a joint development agreement to evaluate the commercial feasibility of creating renewable jet fuel by integrating Renmatix’s Plantrose Process with Gevo’s GIFTTM technology and alcohol to jet process.

Dec. 7, 2018 – Forge Hydrocarbons Corp. has received a $4 million USD investment from Lockheed Martin under the Industrial and Technological Benefits (ITB) Policy. This investment enables Forge, a Canadian small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) company, to further the development of its Lipid-to-Hydrocarbon (LTH) technology and to construct a first-of-its-kind commercial plant with a production capacity of approximately 19 million litres per year (ML/y).

Dec. 3, 2018 - American Securities LLC, a leading U.S. private equity firm, recently announced the closing of its acquisition of CPM Holdings Inc. in partnership with the company’s management team. CPM is a leading global supplier of engineered process equipment to the animal feed, oilseed processing, extrusion and thermal processing markets. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Nov. 27, 2018 - After three-quarters of a century in the business of providing top industrial air-quality solutions across North America, N.R. Murphy Limited has passed the torch to new owners.

Oct. 31, 2018 - Bandit now offers extending Kesla loaders with radio remote controls on its Intimidator 21XP hand-fed chippers, giving land-clearing professionals, tree care companies and right-of-way contractors a powerful all-in-one tool to dispose of limbs and even whole trees.

Oct. 17, 2018 - Industry professionals from around the world gathered in Newton, N.H., on the week of Oct. 1 for the 2018 CBI and Ecotec Factory Forum. CBI’s expanded on-site demo arena included live demos of twelve machines from the CBI and Ecotec product lines, including the all-new 6800CT Horizontal Grinder and Phoenix 1600 Trommel Screen.

Oct. 9, 2018 - Is it time to look at upgrading your grinder? WSM can help you determine the best solution to optimize your operation. WSM offers the most rugged and reliable horizontal and vertical grinders/hogs available.

Nov. 6, 2018 - Over the past 10 years the development of biomass heating projects has increased significantly. The Northeast United States led the way, motivated by replacing fossil fuels with biomass in public buildings. Biomass Resource Energy Center (BERC) has been at the forefront of promoting the push towards biomass heating.

Oct. 30, 2018 - More than 70 international and Canadian bioeconomy industry leaders and policy makers will head to Ottawa November 5–7 for Scaling Up 2018: Competing in the Global Bioeconomy Market. Scaling Up is the largest industrial bioeconomy conference of its kind in Canada dedicated to advancing the commercialization of bio-based solutions to meet the growing need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Oct. 2, 2018 - Gianni Kovacevic will be the keynote speaker for the third annual Biomass North Forum. Kovacevic is an internationally known investor and strategist who specializes in decoding complicated current events. He is a published author who draws from over 20,000 hours of research, and is a sought-after commentator related to wide ranging themes – from the divestment pivot in modern energy, to the rise of a new spending class in emerging markets.

Sept. 14, 2018 - The inaugural Canadian BioDesign Conference held in Sarnia, Ont., this week brought together around 180 people to discuss the development of bio-based materials in Canada.

Sept. 7, 2018 - Get a seat at the table to discuss how to grow Canada’s pellet market at this year’s Wood Pellet Association of Canada AGM and Conference taking place in Vancouver Sept. 19–20.