Canada Gives Mercer Peace River C$20M for Bioenergy, Carbon Capture
The C$20M grant, announced under Canada's tariff-response program, will fund bio-energy upgrades and carbon capture at the Alberta pulp mill. CEO Bueno called it a step toward modernization.
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Mercer International (Nasdaq: MERC) said the Government of Canada, through Prairies Economic Development Canada, has committed C$20 million (about US$14 million) in financial support to its Peace River pulp mill in northern Alberta.
The funding comes under the Regional Tariff Response Initiative, a federal program created to help exporters hit by U.S. tariffs. It includes a C$1 million non-repayable contribution and a C$19 million repayable portion, with repayment starting in 2031, under the terms of the contribution agreement.
Minister of Emergency Management and Community Resilience Eleanor Olszewski announced the funding during a visit to the mill. The money is meant to support the mill's broader transformation plan, which includes improvements to prepare for expanded bio-energy production and carbon capture and storage. That work builds on a carbon dioxide capture demonstration unit already operating at the site.
"This investment is an important step in the continued modernization of Mercer Peace River," CEO Juan Carlos Bueno said in a statement. "It supports improvements to the mill's productivity and competitiveness and reflects the important role MPR plays within northern Alberta's forest products economy."
Olszewski framed the support as a response to U.S. trade actions. "Canada did not choose this trade conflict with the United States, but we will stand up for the workers, businesses and communities under pressure," she said. "For more than 35 years, Mercer Peace River has been an anchor of northern Alberta's economy. This C$20 million investment will help the mill modernize, compete and protect the good jobs that families across the region depend on as we build a stronger, more resilient Canadian economy."
MPR operates in northern Alberta's integrated forest products sector, where sawlogs go to regional sawmills and residual fiber, chips and bark, feeds pulp and energy production. The company has operations in Germany, the U.S. and Canada, with annual capacity of 2.1 million tonnes of pulp, 1,023 million board feet of lumber, 210,000 cubic meters of cross-laminated timber, 45,000 cubic meters of glulam, 17 million pallets and 230,000 metric tonnes of biofuels.
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