French renewable fuels company Haffner Energy has formed a joint venture with a Canadian partner, with plans for a five megawatt (MW) biofuel pilot project in Quebec as its first development.

Announced last week, the Vitry-le-François-based company said it formed a partnership with an unnamed Canadian company. The Canadian partner, which will be identified “shortly,” will deploy Haffner Energy’s biofuel production technology for the pilot. Haffner expects to generate 4.2 million euros from the project in equipment and service sales.

The joint venture will market Haffner Energy’s technology, manufacture most of the equipment, and develop and operate the facilities with the participation of a network of Canadian farmer co-shareholders, according to a release. The joint venture will hold an exclusive license for Haffner Energy’s technology in Canada (excluding certain areas of application).

Haffner Energy holds a 49 per cent stake in the joint venture.

"With this partnership in the heart of North America, we are entering a new dimension,” Philippe Haffner, president and CEO of Haffner Energy, said in the announcement.

The company plans for the pilot to be the first step in a strategy to develop dozens of facilities across Canada. The capacity of the five MW pilot will be approximately one quarter of future projects, which will be based on Haffner Energy’s 20 MW SYNOCA units that can produce renewable synthetic gas using biomass. The synthetic gas, or syngas, can replace fossil fuel gas with a neutral to negative carbon footprint, Haffner Energy says.

The first three hubs are expected to be launched as early as 2026, the release states.

Haffner Energy declined to comment further on the partnership, telling Sustainable Biz Canada more information will become available, ". . . in another press release in the next few days."

About Haffner Energy

A family business that started with cogeneration energy optimization projects at thermal power plants in 1993, Haffner Energy switched its focus to the biofuel sector in 2000.

Its technologies can produce syngas, sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), hydrogen and methanol from biomass, providing a renewable source of fuels for transportation and heavy industries. The fuel production generates biochar, which functions as a carbon sink.

Haffner Energy has offices in Paris, Nantes and Houston.

In 2025, the company struck a number of deals and unveiled technological developments.

In January, it inked a partnership with Illinois-based LanzaTech and LanzaJet to explore biomass-to-SAF projects. A month later, Haffner Energy announced it commissioned the world’s first facility producing hydrogen from solid biomass at its site in Marolles, France.

In March, Haffner Energy announced it signed a contract with H2 bois to develop a biomass-based hydrogen, electricity and biochar production facility in Switzerland.

In September, Haffner Energy forged a 15-year SAF offtake agreement with Luxaviation Group, an operator in the business aviation sector. In November, it was announced OroCarbo selected Haffner Energy’s SYNOCA for use in a biomethanol project in California.