CHAR Technologies Announces $2.5M from the Government of Québec for Saint-Félicien Biocarbon and Green Hydrogen Project

TORONTO, Dec. 18, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — CHAR Technologies (“CHAR Tech” or the “Company”) (TSXV:YES), a leader in sustainable energy solutions, is pleased to announce that the Government of Québec, through the Programme Innovation Bois, has announced the approval of $2.5M to CHAR Tech to support the advancement of the previously announced build, own, operate project to convert wood wastes and residuals into both biocarbon for metallurgical coal replacement, as well as green hydrogen, which the project intends to upgrade further into renewable natural gas. The non-repayable grant funding will be disbursed on predetermined project milestones.

Also announced was a $1M contribution from the Programme Innovation Bois to la Société de cogénération de Saint-Félicien (“SCSF”) towards the centre de valorisation de la biomasse (“CVB”), which is co-located with the CHAR Tech project, and includes a waste heat recovery dryer to pre-process biomass, which will be used by the CHAR Tech project.

SCSF (owned by Green Leaf Power) operates a 25 MW cogeneration facility, converting approximately 260,000 green metric tonnes per year of wood waste biomass into renewable energy, with the electricity sold to Hydro-Québec, and steam for additional industrial uses locally.

Andrew White, CEO of CHAR Tech, commented “We are deeply grateful for the Government of Québec’s support through the Programme Innovation Bois. This $2.5M contribution will accelerate our efforts towards the collaboration of our technology with the CVB at the SCSF facility in Saint-Félicien. Together, we are driving innovation that contributes to a cleaner, greener future.”

Mme. Maïté Blanchette Vézina , Québec Minister of Natural Resources and Forests and Minister responsible for the Bas-Saint-Laurent region and the Gaspésie−Îles-de-la-Madeleine region remarked:

« Avec ces investissements, notre gouvernement démontre à nouveau son soutien à ce secteur névralgique pour le Québec et ses régions. Concrètement, avec cette annonce, nous encourageons des projets innovants qui permettront de dynamiser la filière forestière. Les projets soutenus dans le cadre du Programme Innovation Bois ont généré près de 1,35 milliard de dollars en investissements totaux, créé plus de 1 300 emplois et consolidé plus de 14 000 autres, depuis 2016. C’est impressionnant! Je salue les investisseurs pour leur sens de l’initiative et leur vision d’avenir! »

For further information on the Programme Innovation Bois (PIB), please refer to the programme’s press release.

About CHAR Tech

CHAR Tech (TSXV:YES) first-in-kind high temperature pyrolysis (HTP) technology processes unmerchantable wood and organic wastes to simultaneously generate two renewable energy revenue streams, renewable natural gas (RNG) or green hydrogen and a solid biocarbon that is a carbon neutral drop-in replacement for metallurgical steel making coal.

CHAR’s HTP is an ideal waste to energy solution that aligns with the global green energy transition by diverting waste from landfills and generating sustainable clean energy to decarbonize heavy industry.

For further information, please contact:

Website: www.chartechnologies.com

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Service Provider (as the term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the accuracy of this news release.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements contained in this press release contain “forward-looking information” within the meaning of Canadian securities laws (“forward-looking statements”) about CHAR and its business and operations. The words “may”, “would”, “will”, “intend”, “anticipate”, “expect” and similar expressions as they relate to CHAR, are intended to identify forward-looking information. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements relating to the Offering, the anticipated benefits of, and rationale for, the Offering, statements regarding the intended use of proceeds of the Offering, expectations regarding the offtake agreement, future plans, operations and activities, expectations regarding the scale up of production, the anticipated development of additional project sites on an expedited basis, and other statements that are not historical facts. Such statements reflect CHAR’s current views and ‎intentions with respect to future events, and current information available to CHAR, and are subject to ‎certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including, among others, the timing and ability of CHAR to obtain final approval of the Offering from the TSX Venture Exchange and those risk factors discussed or referred to in CHAR’s disclosure documents filed with the securities regulatory authorities in certain provinces of Canada, including the Management Discussion & Analysis dated August 28^th, 2024 for the quarter ended June 30, 2024, and available under CHAR’s profile on www.sedar.com. Any such forward-looking information is expressly qualified in its ‎entirety by this cautionary statement. Moreover, CHAR does not assume responsibility for the accuracy or ‎completeness of such forward-looking information. The forward-looking information included in this press release ‎is made as of the date of this press release and CHAR undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise ‎any forward-looking information, other than as required by applicable law.