IBTC member Airex Energy and its partners have reached an important milestone in the development of the Belledune torrefied pellet project in New Brunswick, Canada.
NB Power has decided to proceed with the conversion of the Belledune Generating Station from coal to sustainably sourced advanced wood pellets and has entered into a long-term biomass supply agreement with the Belledune Joint Venture. The partnership brings together Airex Energy, Pabineau First Nation, Eel River Bar First Nation and Arbec Forest Products.
Located at the Port of Belledune's Green Energy Hub, the planned facility will transform sustainably sourced forestry residues and sawmill by-products into up to 150,000 tonnes of torrefied pellets per year. The project represents an investment of approximately CAD 100 million.
For the torrefied biomass sector, the long-term supply agreement is particularly significant: it connects industrial-scale production with a defined large-scale off-taker and demonstrates the role torrefied pellets can play as a practical substitute for fossil coal in existing energy infrastructure.
Airex Energy CEO Michel Gagnon describes the Belledune project as a major step forward for the commercialisation of torrefied biomass and an opportunity to demonstrate Canadian technology at industrial scale. Airex has been developing and operating its CarbonFX torrefaction technology since 2016.
The project is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 220,000 tonnes annually, according to current project estimates, while creating or maintaining approximately 400 direct and indirect jobs across the facility and forestry sector.
The development is a strong example of how technology providers, biomass suppliers, industrial off-takers and local partners can work together to build scalable markets for renewable carbon solutions.
Read the full announcement from Airex Energy
