CN Energy is a small Chinese manufacturer of wood-based activated carbon, operating a single facility in Lishui City, Zhejiang Province. Activated carbon is a highly porous material used to adsorb impurities across applications including water purification, pharmaceutical manufacturing, food and beverage production, and industrial use. CN Energy produces activated carbon from forestry residues and wood wastes using a proprietary steam activation process it calls the Cogeneration Process, which captures synthesis gas during production to generate biomass electricity as a co-product. Steam activation also avoids phosphate contamination, allowing CN Energy to serve pharmaceutical and food customers that require higher purity than coal-based activated carbon can provide. CN Energy grades its products by absorptive capacity into four tiers, with higher grades serving pharmaceutical and food customers and lower grades going to industrial and water purification customers. CN Energy sells almost entirely to activated carbon wholesalers and deep-processors in China, pricing each order individually with no long-term supply agreements. The customer base is narrow — 22 customers in FY25, with the top five accounting for 77% of revenue. CN Energy also sources finished activated carbon from third-party producers to fulfill orders where wood-based carbon is not specifically required, though at lower margins. The company has recently launched a separate early-stage robotics subsidiary in the U.S., Pathenbot, which sells logistics and food service robots to small and mid-sized businesses, though this contributes essentially no revenue today.