Viridis Energy

What Viridis Energy does

Viridis Energy Inc. is a Canadian renewable energy company in the biomass sector that manufactures and distributes wood pellets from sawmill by-products (spruce, pine, fir, and Douglas Fir softwoods). The company operated two wholly-owned production facilities — Okanagan Pellet Company in West Kelowna, BC (acquired April 2010; 60,000+ tons/year) and Scotia Atlantic Biomass in Musquodoboit, Nova Scotia (acquired February 2012; 120,000 metric tons/year) — making it the only pellet producer in North America with manufacturing on both the east and west coasts and one of the largest pellet producers in Canada by total saleable volume (~300,000 MT/year including VMI trading). Okanagan operations were ceased in April 2016 and the Okanagan brands (Platinum, Gold, Douglas Fir) were sold to American Biomass Corporation in October 2016, leaving Scotia Atlantic and Viridis Merchants as the remaining revenue base.

The company's product portfolio covers three segments: industrial pellets shipped in bulk vessels to European power plants and utilities (arranged through worldwide agent Ekman & Co AB) for biomass co-firing and full conversion; residential pellets sold in 40-pound or 15kg bags through Canadian Tire, Home Depot, and home & hearth retailers for household heating; and Stallion-brand kiln-dried wood shavings for the U.S. high-end equestrian market, packaged in compressed bales delivering 20% more volume than competitors. Products meet the Pellet Fuels Institute Premium standard and EN Plus A1 European standards.

The business model combines owned manufacturing, third-party aggregation, and global trading through Viridis Merchants Inc. (VMI), which leases rail cars for logistics and contracts third-party producers to supplement owned capacity. Pricing is not publicly disclosed; revenue is generated via unit pricing on bulk industrial vessel sales, bagged residential sales, and transaction-style margins on VMI aggregation. The company is publicly listed (formerly TSX-V: VRD) but is currently delisted and subject to a Cease Trade Order issued by the British Columbia Securities Commission in May 2016; it has received demand notices from secured creditor Cornwall Investments LLC.

Name

Viridis Energy

Legal name

Viridis Energy Inc.

Website

https://viridisenergy.ca

Company type

Public

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Viridis Energy Inc. is a Canadian biomass company that manufactures and trades wood pellets from sawmill by-products, supplying industrial pellets to European power plants through its Scotia Atlantic facility (120,000 tons/year) and distributing residential pellets and Stallion shavings through North American retailers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Wood Pellets & Biomass Fuel Manufacturing

NAICS

Wood Product Manufacturing (321), Other Wood Product Manufacturing (3219)

SIC

Lumber & Wood Products (No Furniture) (2400), Wholesale-Lumber & Other Construction Materials (5030)

akta.pro primary industry

Wood Pellet Manufacturing (EUAAAJAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Pellet & Wood Fuel Manufacturing (IMAMABAH), Biomass Pellets, Briquettes & Solid Bioenergy Products (industrial/residential) (IMAMALAJ)

Keywords

• Wood pellet manufacturing
• Biomass fuel production
• Renewable energy manufacturing
• Industrial pellet supply
• Animal bedding shavings

Headquarters

HQ city

Vancouver

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Wood Pellet Manufacturing and Sales: Viridis Energy manufactures wood pellets at two owned facilities (Okanagan Pellet Company and Scotia Atlantic Biomass) and distributes to industrial and residential customers domestically and internationally. Total annual volume approximately 300,000 tons making it one of the largest pellet producers in Canada.
2. Wood Shavings for Animal Bedding: Stallion brand shavings manufactured at Okanagan Pellet Company for the high-end equestrian market in the U.S., compressed in plastic bales and distributed through dealer networks.
3. Viridis Merchants - Aggregation and Trading: Wholly-owned subsidiary VMI aggregates and trades wood pellets and other alternative energy sources, buying from third-party manufacturers and trading domestically and globally, providing logistics management through leased rail cars. Total contracted volume brings saleable volume to over 300,000 MT per year.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Viridis Energy manufactures and distributes wood pellets from sawmill by-products (softwood residues such as spruce, pine, fir and Douglas fir) at two owned facilities in British Columbia and Nova Scotia, producing industrial pellets for European power plants and premium residential pellets (Okanagan Platinum, Douglas Fir, Gold brands) sold through big-box retailers. The company also manufactures Stallion brand wood shavings for the U.S. equestrian/animal-bedding market and operates Viridis Merchants Inc. (VMI) as an aggregation and trading arm for third-party wood pellets.

Product overview

Viridis Energy is a Canadian biomass energy company operating in the wood pellet sector with three main product lines: Industrial Pellets for power plants in Europe, Residential Pellets (Okanagan Platinum, Okanagan Douglas Fir, Okanagan Gold) for home heating across North America, and Stallion Shavings for animal bedding. The company operates two manufacturing subsidiaries: Okanagan Pellet Company (West Kelowna, BC) with 60,000+ tons annual capacity and Scotia Atlantic Biomass (Nova Scotia) with 120,000 metric tons capacity. Viridis Merchants Inc. provides aggregation and trading services, bringing total saleable volume to over 300,000 MT per year. The company is the only pellet producer in North America with manufacturing and distribution capabilities on both east and west coasts.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Okanagan Platinum: Premium softwood residential wood pellets made from 100% softwood sawdust with no additives, bark, or contaminants. Available at Canadian Tire and Home Depot stores in Canada.
• Okanagan Douglas Fir
• Okanagan Gold
• Stallion Shavings

Products and services

• Industrial Pellets Wood pellets manufactured at the Nova Scotia (Scotia Atlantic Biomass) facility with approximately 120,000 tons per year capacity, made from sustainably managed forests and used by European power plants for clean energy generation via co-firing or full biomass conversion.
• Okanagan Platinum (Residential Pellets) Premium softwood residential pellets made from 100% softwood sawdust with no additives, bark, or contaminants, meeting Pellet Fuels Institute Premium standard and EN Plus A1 European standards. Distributed through Canadian Tire and Home Depot in Canada in 40-pound bags.
• Okanagan Douglas Fir (Residential Pellets) Super premium fuel pellets made from 100% Douglas Fir Softwood with no recycled wood, additives, plastic or waxes; positioned as burning hotter, longer, and cleaner with very low ash content for reduced stove maintenance.
• Okanagan Gold (Residential Pellets) Softwood residential pellets made exclusively from Yellow Pine fiber, with very low chloride levels resulting in less corrosion and longer-lasting stoves and chimney pipes.
• Stallion Shavings Premium wood shavings for animal bedding made from primary-sawmill by-products without contaminants such as glue; kiln dried to optimal moisture content, double-screened, vacuumed prior to bagging to remove dust, and compressed into plastic bales delivering 12 cubic feet of shavings in a 3 cubic foot bale (20% more than competitors).

Quantifiable outcome

• Wood pellets cost 25-30% less than heating oil
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• American Biomass CorporationcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 19 October 2016Viridis Energy announced the closing of the sale of the Okanagan Pellet brands to American Biomass Corporation Inc., a leader in wood pellet distribution. This acquisition of Okanagan Brands by American Biomass represents a divestiture of the Okanagan brand portfolio from Viridis Energy.
• Viridis Merchants - European Supply AgreementminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 12 June 2015Viridis Merchants Inc. (VMI), the company's aggregation and trading subsidiary, announced its first European supply agreement, securing a new channel for distributing wood pellets to the European market.
• Ekman & Co ABcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 23 December 2014Ekman & Co AB serves as Scotia Atlantic Biomass's worldwide agent, assisting in arranging short-term and multi-year take-offtake agreements for its industrial wood pellet production with European generators that co-fire with wood pellets or have fully converted to biomass. The partnership was renewed in December 2014 and is expected to continue flourishing together for the upcoming 36 months.
• Strategic Partner - Scotia Atlantic BiomasscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 July 2014Scotia Atlantic Biomass Company Limited entered into a strategic partnership effective June 30, 2014 and secured up to $1 million in funding support for operational facilities upgrades from the Government of Nova Scotia.

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Graanul Invest: One of Europe's largest wood pellet producers, headquartered in Estonia, with industrial-scale plants supplying utilities in the EU. Comparable to Viridis on the industrial pellet export model and customer base of European power generators.
• Pinnacle Renewable Energy: Canadian producer of industrial wood pellets headquartered in British Columbia with manufacturing in Western Canada; subsequently acquired by Drax. Closely comparable to Viridis as a Canadian industrial pellet exporter to European utilities.
• Enviva Inc. The world's largest producer of industrial wood pellets, supplying European and Asian utilities from plants across the U.S. Southeast. Directly comparable to Viridis/Scotia Atlantic as a maker and global exporter of bulk industrial pellets to coal-converting power plants.
• Pacific BioEnergy: British Columbia-based producer of premium wood pellets with industrial and residential grades and export orientation. Comparable to Viridis's Okanagan/Scotia Atlantic operations in feedstock, geography, and product mix.
• German Pellets: Major German wood pellet producer serving both industrial and residential heating markets in Europe. Comparable to Viridis as a transatlantic pellet producer with utility-scale and bagged residential exposure.
• Lignetics: U.S. manufacturer of wood pellets and branded shavings/biomass products serving residential heating and equestrian end-markets. Comparable to Viridis on the dual industrial/residential/shavings portfolio and brand-led retail positioning.
• Atikokan Renewable Fuel: Ontario-based manufacturer of industrial wood pellets for Ontario Power Generation's converted biomass plant. Directly comparable to Viridis as a Canadian industrial pellet supplier to a coal-to-biomass utility offtaker.

Broad incumbents

• RWE AG: Large European utility actively converting coal-fired generation to biomass. A direct prospective offtaker and thus a strategically comparable counterparty to Viridis's industrial pellet export business.
• Drax Group: UK-listed owner of Europe's largest biomass-fired power station and (via Pinnacle acquisition) a major pellet producer. Comparable as a dominant buyer/integrated producer in the same industrial pellet value chain Viridis serves.

Emerging players

• American Biomass Corporation: U.S.-focused wood pellet distributor that acquired Viridis's Okanagan Pellet brands in October 2016. Comparable and adjacent to Viridis as a competing marketer of premium residential pellet brands into North American retail channels.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/513152

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A3 records

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Viridis Energy