HOPA Ports and indigenous partner revive Ontario biodiesel plant

HOPA Ports has joined forces with the Mississaugas of the Credit Business Corporation (MCBC) to restart a biodiesel production facility at the Port of Hamilton, securing the future of a key renewable fuels asset that had faced permanent closure.

The plant will be operated by Biidaaban Renewable Energy, a newly established company created to bring the facility back into production. MCBC, which represents the business development interests of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation (MCFN), will hold a 51% ownership stake, making the venture a majority Indigenous-owned clean energy project.  The partnership is underpinned by a Memorandum of Understanding between HOPA Ports and MCFN, designed to support long-term collaboration and economic development. The facility is located at Pier 14 in the Port of Hamilton, one of Canada’s most important industrial and transportation hubs.

Warren Sault, president and CEO of MCBC, described the investment as a significant step towards expanding Indigenous participation in sustainable energy development. The project’s name, Biidaaban—an Anishinaabe word meaning “a new day” or the first light of dawn—reflects a commitment to economic reconciliation and environmental stewardship. According to the partners, the restart has been made possible by improving market conditions and supportive biofuels policies introduced by the Ontario and Canadian governments. The venture is expected to create more than 70 jobs while supplying low-carbon fuel to help reduce transportation emissions.

The move marks a significant boost for Ontario’s renewable fuels sector and highlights growing Indigenous leadership in Canada’s clean energy economy.