Canadian advanced plasma processes and products developer PyroGenesis Canada Inc. (PyroGenesis) has announced that it has signed a binding Letter of Intent (LoI), which outlines the terms and conditions pursuant to which PyroGenesis would acquire compatriot AirScience Technologies Inc (AST) for CA$4.8 million. The LoI is binding on AST, but it is only binding on PyroGenesis if, in its sole opinion, it is satisfied with the final due diligence currently in progress.
AST is a Montreal-based company that designs and builds gas upgrading systems, specifically from biogas to biomethane (renewable natural gas – RNG), pyrolysis-gas (pyrogas) purification systems, as well as providing biogas and landfill gas (LFG) flares and thermal oxidizers.
AST is known for its line of landfill gas flares which reduce GHG emissions specifically from landfills. AST complements these offerings with technologies geared towards the desulfurization, dehumidification, and purification of biogas, as well as the production of RNG through the removal of carbon dioxide.
Separately, AST is also active in the purification of coke-oven gas, a by-product in the primary steel industry arising from the conversion of coal into coke, into high purity hydrogen.
The option to satisfy the Purchase Price in shares or cash is at the sole discretion of the buyer, and will only be made on, or about, final closing.
According to Peter Pascali, CEO and Chair of PyroGenesis, biogas production in North America is an industry on the verge of explosive growth and with significant potential for additional expansion and development.
The North American biogas market is vastly underutilized when compared to other parts of the world; there are under 2 500 sites producing biogas in North America as compared to over 10 000 sites in Europe.
There are only 130 plants currently producing RNG in North America, with a potential need for an additional 100 over the next two years, and an additional one thousand in the two to ten-year time horizon.
It is this “explosive growth” that PyroGenesis seeks to address with this acquisition.
When the Québec government recently unveiled its ambitious plans for a green economy, they incorporated RNG and green hydrogen initiatives as a strategy to reduce GHG emissions. In their 2030 plan for a green economy, the Québec Government launched its first implementation plan, covering 2021-2026, and which was backed by a budget of no less than CA$6.7 billion over the ensuing five years. More specifically, it earmarked over CA$200 million for RNG projects in the form of investments in the financing of RNG production and distribution projects. AST’s experience in biogas upgrading, combined with PyroGenesis’ engineering and multidisciplinary skills, as well as its proven record of meeting the exacting demands of multibillion-dollar companies and the US military, positions the combination well to address the opportunities arising from this growing need to clean biogas, commented Peter Pascali.
