ARC Bio has demonstrated a pathway for converting Canadian forest residues into refinery-ready biocrude and producing a jet-range fuel fraction through pilot-scale refinery processing, marking a step toward sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production from woody biomass.
ARC Bio is a Canadian joint venture between an affiliate of Bioénergie AECN and Alder Renewables, focused on converting forestry residues into renewable fuels.
The demonstration began with fast pyrolysis oil produced from Canadian forest residues by Bioénergie AECN in Port-Cartier, Quebec. The bio-oil was upgraded into barrel-scale quantities of Alder Renewable Crude (ARC), a transportable biocrude developed for integration with conventional refinery operations.
ARC was subsequently processed in a pilot fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) unit that simulates commercial refinery operation. Carbon-14 analysis of the resulting fuel products confirmed the presence of biogenic carbon originating from the wood residue feedstock.
The FCC campaign produced a jet-range fuel fraction that was isolated and evaluated for blending with HEFA-based SAF, produced from fats, oils and greases. According to ARC Bio, the resulting blend met the key ASTM D1655 fuel-property specifications evaluated during screening.
The results demonstrate progress in the conversion process but do not establish full qualification of the forest-derived pathway for commercial aviation use.
Linking Forest Biomass With Existing Refineries
A central feature of the approach is its potential to use refinery infrastructure already operating at commercial scale.
Fluid catalytic cracking is widely used in refineries to produce transportation fuel components. Introducing ARC into existing refinery processes could provide a route for incorporating renewable forestry feedstocks into established fuel-production operations, potentially reducing the need for a separate refining system.
For Canada's forest sector, the pathway could create an additional outlet for residual woody biomass. ARC Bio said potential feedstocks may include forest-industry residues as well as low-value woody biomass generated through forest management and wildfire-risk reduction, where suitable supply chains can be established.
Converting these materials into an energy-dense, transportable biocrude could help connect dispersed forestry resources with centralized refining infrastructure.
Project Targets Further Scale-Up
The work is part of a Canadian SAF initiative supported financially by Boeing.
In May 2025, Boeing announced a C$10 million investment in Project Avance, a collaboration involving Bioénergie AECN and Alder Renewables in Port-Cartier. At the time, Boeing said the project could enable future developments in Quebec to produce approximately 10 million gallons (37.9 million litres) of unblended SAF annually.
That figure represents projected future production potential rather than capacity demonstrated during the current pilot campaign.
ARC Bio said the next stage of the program will generate additional refinery-relevant technical and economic data to support larger-scale trials.
Its longer-term objective is a first-of-a-kind Canadian commercial project combining forest-residue conversion, biocrude production and integration with existing refinery infrastructure.
