Biidaaban Renewable Energy to reopen Hamilton biodiesel facility

In Canada, Unifor has signed a memorandum of understanding with Biidaaban Renewable Energy that opens the door for Local 593 members to return to work this summer at the Hamilton biodiesel facility, nearly a year after the plant’s previous owner moved to close it permanently.

The agreement comes as the facility at Pier 14 in the Port of Hamilton restarts under new ownership. Unifor campaigned for Ontario to require a minimum amount of Canadian made content in its diesel fuel, following a policy already in place in British Columbia. In July 2025, Ontario moved to require that at least 75 per cent of the renewable content in diesel be produced in Canada. That change helped restore the market conditions needed to bring the plant back online.

Biidaaban Renewable Energy is a new company majority owned by the Mississaugas of the Credit Business Corporation, the business arm of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation. Biodiesel is a renewable fuel made largely from vegetable oils, animal fats and recycled cooking oil, and the Hamilton plant is one of the few places in Ontario that produces it.

Tags: Biidaaban Renewable Energy, biodiesel, Canada

Category: Fuels