Active Energy awarded new patents for CoalSwitch biofuel from wood residue

Active Energy, the international biomass based renewable energy business, has been awarded multiple new patents for turning lumber and forestry waste into clean energy. The patents further extend AEG’s intellectual property for its CoalSwitch product, a first of its kind “drop-in” replacement for traditional coal made from renewable resources.

In the U.S., the United States Patent and Trademark Office has issued two patents, No. 10,647,935 and No. 10,858,607 and the Canadian Patent Office has issued Patent No. 2,999,447, for treating and preparing biomass to be used as fuel.

“These patents reflect and protect our innovative technology, ensuring that we can confidently and exclusively offer CoalSwitch and other products that help our customers reduce emissions and pollution without needing to install or upgrade hardware, pay for costly offsets or pay more for fuel,” said Michael Rowan, CEO of Active Energy Group.

The award of three new patents builds on the successful receipt of the Malaysian Patent for CoalSwitch in July 2022 and with patents awarded in the United States in 2020 for the manufacturing and production of CoalSwitch and in Canada in 2021 for beneficiating and cleaning biomass. The company continues to file further patent applications globally, targeting significant markets such as Europe and Asia.

AEG is currently in the final states of constructing its first fully commercial scale CoalSwitch production facility in Ashland, Maine where commissioning is expected in late spring. CoalSwitch has been shown to reduce CO2 emissions by up to 99 per cent compared to coal and up to 97 per cent compared to natural gas in an independent report from Life Cycle Associates. This is in addition to independent testing carried out under the STEP Program (working with Rocky Mountain Power) that showed this fuel can readily co-fire with coal and in doing so significantly reduces emissions and produces fewer pollutants. Additional peer-review research (published in 2023) shows that unlike traditional “white” pellets, CoalSwitch does not generate ash that can “foul” equipment.