Arq Inc (NASDAQ: ARQ) is an activated carbon manufacturing company that produces powdered activated carbon (PAC) and granular activated carbon (GAC) for use in air pollution control and water treatment applications. Revenue comes from transactional product sales of AC materials to the air pollution control and water treatment markets, collectively referred to as the advanced purification technologies (APT) market. The company mines its own lignite feedstock from the Five Forks Mine in Saline, Louisiana, and controls bituminous coal waste reserves plus a manufacturing facility in Corbin, Kentucky. Arq traces its roots to ADA-ES, Inc., incorporated in Colorado in 1997, and rebranded to Arq, Inc. in February 2024 following a February 2023 acquisition of Legacy Arq subsidiaries. Demand for its primary mercury-removal PAC products is tied directly to U.S. coal-fired power generation levels and EPA Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) Rule enforcement. GAC production, launched at the Red River Plant's GAC Facility in August 2025, was paused by December 2025 due to design flaws and ramp-up issues. Robert Rasmus serves as Chief Executive Officer.
- Revenue model
- Transactional product sales of PAC and GAC to utilities and water treatment facilities. No subscription or royalty model is disclosed in the FY2025 10-K filing.
- Products and services
- Powdered activated carbon (PAC) for mercury and hazardous air pollutant removal at coal- and oil-fired electric utility steam generating units; granular activated carbon (GAC) for water treatment and APT markets (production paused as of December 2025); Corbin Wetcake, a purified microfine carbon powder produced from recovered bituminous coal fines at the Corbin Facility, with potential applications in asphalt, purified coal, and synthetic graphite industries currently in proof-of-concept or preliminary customer testing stages.
- Customers and end markets
- Primary end market is the APT market, comprising coal- and oil-fired electric utility steam generating units (EGUs) subject to EPA MATS Rule requirements for hazardous air pollutant removal, and water treatment facilities. Demand is driven by coal-fired power dispatch levels, environmental regulation enforcement, and municipal or state approval of GAC products.
- Value-chain role
- Vertically integrated manufacturer: mines raw lignite feedstock at the Five Forks Mine (Saline, Louisiana), processes bituminous coal waste at the Corbin Facility (Corbin, Kentucky), and manufactures finished AC products at the Red River Plant for direct sale to end-market customers.
- Geographic exposure
- Operations are U.S.-based, with mining in Saline, Louisiana, manufacturing in Corbin, Kentucky, and the Red River Plant GAC Facility. The filing does not disclose international revenue.
Source: SEC 10-K, filed 2026-03-10
Industry:
Miscellaneous Chemical Products
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