Active Energy PLC (LON:AEG) shares rose on Tuesday as the firm said it expects its new CoalSwitch manufacturing plant at Lumberton, North Carolina to begin operations 'shortly'.
All the key equipment is en route from its previous site in Utah to its new location and should arrive this week.
A test reactor is already operational, while construction of the 5-tonne processing plant is scheduled for this month.
AEG, meanwhile, has signed a five-year contract for the annual supply of 800,000 tonnes of raw material to the new site, which will kick in once the plant is up and running.
Michael Rowan, chief executive, said: "We are delighted to have entered into the final stages of transporting and installing all the removed equipment from the Utah Site to the Lumberton Site, which will soon be operational.
Lumberton is an ideal base as it is close to multiple power stations as well as the US Eastern Seaboard, he added.
"Our next steps are to develop an integrated Forest-to-Energy supply chain capable of producing up to 500,000 tonnes of CoalSwitch per year and act as blueprint for other locations," Rowan said.
CoalSwitch is a biomass alternative to coal made from waste wood normally left to decompose following forestry operations.
This waste includes pulp and sawmill by-products such as bark, sawdust and thinnings, and wood which is over-age, under-quality, blow-down, beetle-kill, forest-fire damaged, or industrial waste.
In late morning trading, Active Energy shares were 13.1% higher at 0.47p.
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