CHAR Tech and Lake Nipigon Forest Management Inc. Sign Partnership Agreement

THUNDER BAY, Ontario, March 13, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CHAR Technologies (“CHAR Tech” or the “Company”) (TSXV:YES), a leader in sustainable energy solutions, is proud to announce the formalization of a partnership agreement (the “Agreement”) with the First Nations co-operative Lake Nipigon Forest Management Inc. (“LNFMI”), marking a significant milestone for both parties as they advance forestry sustainability programs in Northern Ontario. The partnership, Lake Nipigon Forest Sustainable Energy Solutions, (the “Partnership”) builds upon the foundation laid by the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed in April 2023.

LNFMI is a forest management co-operative comprised of four local First Nation Communities who hold the Sustainable Forest License (SFL) on the Lake Nipigon Forest:

• Animbiigoo Zaagi’igan Anishinaabek
• Bingwi Neyaashi Anishinaabek
• Biinjitiwaabik Zaaging Anishinaabek
• Red Rock Indian Band

The Partnership will continue advancing development of the jointly-owned facility modeled after CHAR Tech’s flagship facility in Thorold, Ontario. The project is projected to annually produce 500,000 gigajoules of Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) and 10,000 tonnes of biocarbon and begin operations by 2026.

Under the Agreement, LNFMI will oversee the annual wood fiber harvest from the Lake Nipigon Forest, ensuring CHAR Tech’s wood waste feedstock supply for the wood waste-to-renewable energy (RNG and biocarbon) facility. The Partnership supports initial production goals and paves the way for significant scalable expansion beyond CHAR Tech’s Thorold revenue capacity.

Scot Rubin, CEO of LNFMI, describes how meaningful this partnership is for the four First Nation community shareholders. “LNFMI has come a long way from the forestry downturn 15 years ago. It was the four First Nation partners who kept this company afloat during the hard times, and LNFMI is now overseeing one of the most productive forests in the province. Through this new partnership and RNG initiative, our First Nation shareholders will see employment, contracting opportunities and steady revenue streams for years to come, all while being a part of the clean energy future in the north.”

Andrew White, CEO of CHAR Tech, emphasized the significance of the partnership, stating, "It is gratifying to be working with a partner like LNFMI who shares our vision of driving waste-to-renewable energy solutions. This project will set a good example for future successes in the region and will reveal the value that resides in undesirable and unmarketable wood waste products of traditional harvest systems.”

Also supporting regional development has been the Ontario Government’s Forest Biomass Program’s Indigenous Bioeconomy Partnerships funding stream. In January 2023, LNFMI was awarded an investment of $200,000 to support formalizing the LNFMI and CHAR Tech partnership for the Lake Nipigon Forest Sustainable Energy Solutions RNG and biocarbon production facility.

Graydon Smith, Ontario Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry, added, “We welcome this investment in LNFMI to support formalizing the partnership with CHAR Tech, a company leading forest biomass innovation and clean fuel production in Ontario. Through our Forest Biomass Program’s Indigenous Bioeconomy Partnerships funding stream, Ontario is ensuring that forest sector growth builds prosperity for the four Indigenous shareholders of LNFMI, other Indigenous communities and businesses.”

CHAR QUICK FACTS

• March 2024, CHAR Tech awarded $5.2 million from the Government of Canada’s Natural Resources Canada Clean Fuels Fund;
• July 2023, closed a $6.6M strategic investment by world’s leading steel and mining company, ArcelorMittal S.A., through ArcelorMittal’s XCarb® Innovation Fund;
• December 2022, The Government of Canada has previously announced $4,938,168 through the Investments in Forest Industry Transformation program and $1,500,000 through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario Jobs and Growth Fund and;
• December 2022, The Government of Ontario has previously announced $6,438,168 through the Forest Sector Investment and Innovation Program.

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.

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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 February 27^th, 2024 for the quarter ended December 31, 2023, 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.