Ontario facility

Bio Terrava's first biocarbon facility in Southern Ontario: site criteria, feedstock, phased capacity from a 2,000 t/y pilot to a 10,000 t/y module, and timeline.

Choosing the site

Shortlist: Southern Ontario (Niagara region shortlist). Final selection follows the step 1 evaluation.

Feedstock within 200 km
Clean construction and demolition wood that carries a tipping fee today, plus orchard-removal wood from Niagara growers.
Route to buyers
Road and rail access to Ontario steel mills in Hamilton and Sault Ste. Marie, and to silicon producers in Quebec and the US.
Approvals
Industrial zoning and a clear path to an Environmental Compliance Approval from Ontario’s Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks for air and noise.
Utilities
Grid connection for export of surplus syngas power, water for quenching, and room for added retort modules.

From pilot to regional hub, one gate at a time

Each phase is sized to the offtake already signed. Capital estimates are management figures and will be refined in front-end engineering.

  1. Phase 0

    Pilot

    Capacity
    2,000 t/y
    Capital estimate
    US$1.8M

    Pilot retort module. Sample lots, independent assays and furnace trials with two steel mills. Opens silicon-smelter sales.

    Moves on when trial results meet the mill specification

  2. Phase 1

    Ontario beachhead

    Capacity
    10,000 t/y
    Capital estimate
    US$9.0M

    First commercial module, fed by construction and demolition wood and orchard-removal wood. First carbon credit issuance.

    Moves on with a 3-year offtake of at least 7,500 t/y

  3. Phase 2

    Regional hub

    Capacity
    30,000 t/y
    Capital estimate
    US$18.5M

    Duplicate retort modules on site or build a second hub near a steel cluster, with pelletising and rail loading.

    Moves on with contracted offtake above 17,500 t/y

Indicative timeline

Dates depend on financing, approvals and trial results, and will move if a gate is not met.

  1. Months 0–3

    Feedstock audits, buyer specifications, site shortlist and permitting pre-consultation.

  2. Months 3–6

    Bench-scale pyrolysis of Ontario feedstock with independent assays.

  3. Months 6–15

    Pilot module fabricated and commissioned; first bulk sample lots to mills and silicon smelters.

  4. Months 15–24

    Furnace trials, offtake negotiation and front-end engineering for the 10,000 t/y module.

  5. After signed offtake

    EPC delivery and commissioning of the commercial module.

Three steps before we build at full scale

Bio Terrava works as an engineering consultancy through each step and takes on EPC delivery of the commercial plant only after the pilot has validated the process.

  1. Evaluate and identify

    Audit the feedstock and its contaminants, confirm the buyer specification, and screen sites for air approvals, logistics and power. This is engineering consultancy work, stamped by a licensed professional engineer.

    Evidence produced: Feedstock audit, offtake spec, site shortlist

  2. Bench-scale testing

    Pyrolyse the real Ontario feedstock in the lab, with independent proximate, ultimate and ash-fusion assays, to fix process conditions that meet the buyer specification.

    Evidence produced: Process window and assay certificates

  3. Pilot before full scale

    A 2,000 t/y pilot module produces bulk sample lots for 6–12 month furnace trials with steel mills. Only after pilot validation do we move to EPC delivery of the commercial plant.

    Evidence produced: Furnace-trial data and signed offtake

Then: EPC delivery of the 10,000 t/y commercial module, released against signed offtake.

Talk to us about the Ontario facility

Investors, steel and silicon buyers, and feedstock suppliers: tell us who you are and we will send the right information.

Request the investor pack