Birchtech (BCHT) is accelerating its pivot from industrial air pollution control to water treatment, unveiling a carbon regeneration acquisition, a pipeline of greenfield facilities and a resin product line that management says opens an opportunity roughly ten times the size of its legacy air business.
Speaking at the H.C. Wainwright 28th Annual Global Investment Conference on Monday, Sept. 14, 2026, Founder and Chief Executive Rick MacPherson outlined the company's strategy to serve the growing U.S. market for granular activated carbon (GAC) solutions addressing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in drinking water.
Birchtech reported second-quarter revenue of $3.8 million and last-twelve-months revenue of $19.18 million. The company said it holds approximately $12 million in cash and carries no debt. Its market capitalization stood at $36.3 million at the time of the conference.
The water segment, MacPherson said, represents a "tenfold" expansion relative to the company's air-business ceiling, which he estimated at roughly $30 million in peak revenue plus a comparable services range. More than 50,000 community utilities operate in the United States, and over half have adopted or plan to adopt GAC as their compliance method, according to the company. It estimated the annual PFAS compliance cost burden nationally at approximately $1.5 billion.
Birchtech also announced earlier in the conference week the acquisition of a carbon regeneration business, which it expects to close within three to four weeks and be fully operational by the end of 2024. The acquisition will support what MacPherson described as a three-part service model encompassing core operations, regeneration services and GAC supply. The company stated its proprietary regeneration process matches virgin carbon performance with 100 percent efficacy.
On greenfield development, Birchtech said it expects to announce its first new facility in the fall of 2024, with construction beginning shortly after. The company projects the first greenfield plant will come online by the end of 2027, followed by second and third facilities through 2028, and multiple plants operating by 2029. A new resin product line is scheduled for launch in 2027.
MacPherson emphasized that the company is choosing to secure existing再生 capacity before committing capital to new builds. "A lot of people, especially in this industry, have made large announcements and they are going to build huge plants with great outputs, but they have difficulty both in meeting the time frames and in keeping in budget. Our approach with this first acquisition is to get all of that out of the way before we start building from scratch new plants to meet the PFOS problem," he said.
Birchtech's air-pollution control business has operated commercially for more than 15 years using activated carbon technologies, with commercial bases in Texas, an analytical laboratory in North Dakota and a pilot and design center in State College, Pennsylvania. The company said it funded the construction of both the North Dakota laboratory and the Pennsylvania center entirely from operating cash flow over the prior three years without external financing.
On the legal front, Birchtech disclosed that all inter partes review challenges to its patents have been dismissed or set aside, shielding the patents from further attack by remaining defendants. In its case against Ameren Corporation, the stay has been lifted and a trial date is expected to be set within weeks. The company won a federal court judgment of $78 million approximately a year ago; accrued interest has now pushed the award above $80 million. Legal counsel Caldwell Cassady & Curry handled the Delaware ruling and is managing the Ameren matter. MacPherson noted the Ameren case carries "substantial damage potential based on plant capacities and past technology usage."
