EFT signs master-license agreement with Highbury Energy for biomass-to-fuel project in Canada

Emerging Fuels Technology announced Jan. 28 that it has signed a master-license agreement with Highbury Energy Inc. and a site license with Wanagekong-Biiwega’iganan Clean Energy Corp.—an Indigenous majority-owned and Indigenous-led joint venture with Highbury—aiming to produce renewable fuels from wood-waste biomass feedstocks.

Coupled with Highbury’s advanced gasification technology, WBCE Corp. will deploy EFT’s Fischer-Tropsch technology at its first biorefinery in Fort Frances, Ontario, Canada.

The facility will process wood waste from local mills and produce 20 million liters (5.3 million gallons) of low-carbon renewable fuels, including low carbon-intensity renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).

Leading the joint venture with Highbury, according to EFT, are “10 proactive and forward-thinking Treaty 3 Fort Frances Ontario area First Nations, further underscoring the project’s commitment to Indigenous leadership and environmental stewardship.”

“Transportation companies, railways, airlines and heavy-truck operators are increasingly seeking low-carbon fuel sources to meet stricter emissions regulations, and this demand can benefit WBCE Corp. and the First Nation communities,” said Janice Henderson, WBCE Corp. president and Mitaanjigamiing First Nation chief.

Wayne Smith, WBCE Corp. board member and chief  of the Naicatchewenin First Nation, added, “It is a chance for First Nations to do something good for our forests, it’s our chance to do something good for the environment, and it’s our chance to be rewarded for doing good things. I see our time as the time of an energy revolution—when we turn away from fuels that damage the environment and put life at risk and adopt fuels that are better for all living things.”

According to EFT, the project timeline and milestones are:

• Process-design package (PDP) is underway, with completion expected in early 2025.

• Front-end engineering design (FEED) will follow, leading to a final-investment decision (FID) by mid-2025.

• Federal government support—Natural Resources Canada is funding the bulk of the FEED study, highlighting its commitment to renewable energy innovation.

Developed at the University of British Columbia, Highbury’s patented dual-fluidized-bed steam gasification technology has been proven effective through six years of pilot testing at the UBC campus.

Backed by 14 years of R&D, lab and pilot-plant development, testing and operations, and a robust intellectual-property portfolio—including three patents and 19 proprietary white papers—Highbury’s technology converts diverse biomass feedstocks into a high-grade, medium-BTU renewable fuel gas without requiring supplemental oxygen.