Pinnacle Renewable Holdings Inc. has entered into a long-term, take-or-pay off-take contract with Ube Industries Ltd., a diversified Japanese conglomerate with annual revenues of approximately $6 billion. Under the terms of the contract, Pinnacle will supply 70,000 metric tons per annum of industrial wood pellets to Ube beginning in late 2019.

“Japan has made a strong commitment to decarbonization, and biomass is poised to become an increasingly important part of the country’s energy mix,” said Robert McCurdy, CEO of Pinnacle. “One third of our $421 million in contracted backlog in 2017 was with customers in Japan, and this new contract with Ube further builds on our strong sales momentum in this growing market.”

Demand for industrial wood pellets in Japan is accelerating, supported by the government’s Feed-in Tariff system. There are more than 10 new biomass projects currently in late-stage development in Japan.

Pinnacle Renewable Holdings Inc. is a rapidly growing industrial wood pellet manufacturer and distributor and the third largest producer in the world.

Pinnacle CEO Rob McCurdy | Photo: Chung Chow