Alberta Innovates Bio Solutions awards $1.3 million for six bioindustrial research projects

Alberta Innovates Bio Solutions is funding six new bioindustrial projects through its Bioindustrial Research and Innovation Program 2012-13. This targeted program aims to stimulate development of new bioindustrial products and processes from biomass and may lead to new business opportunities for the forest and agricultural sectors in Alberta and Canada.

“The projects funded through our Bioindustrial Research and Innovation program hold great promise for increasing economic activity in Alberta’s bioindustrial sector, helping to strengthen and diversify our provincial economy,” said Dr. Stan Blade, Chief Executive Officer of Alberta Innovates Bio Solutions (AI Bio). “Blending forest or agricultural fibre with existing materials or using the fibre in innovative ways may lead to products that are environmentally sustainable with desirable market qualities.”

Representing more than $4.3 million in total project costs, six applied research projects, all with a strong connection to Alberta, were selected to receive a combined total of more than $1.3 million from AI Bio over 2013-16. With team leads located in Edmonton, Calgary, Fredericton and Ottawa, researchers in the six projects plan to use renewable wood or agricultural fibre in ways that may lead to a variety of innovative products or processes including bioplastics for automotive, packaging, or biomedical industries, and biochar for removal of contaminants from oil tailings water. Other projects will focus on developing green biocomposite building products like high- strength, low-weight, foam-core sandwich structures, low-cracking concrete, high-performance cross-laminated timber panels and building-code-certified structural insulated panels from oriented strand board.

Alberta Innovates Bio Solutions is a board-governed research agency funded by the Government of Alberta that leads and coordinates science and innovation to grow prosperity in Alberta’s agriculture, food, and forest sectors.
Additional information is available about the program at www.bio.albertainnovates.ca/funding/bri2012 and about the projects at www.BioLINK.albertainnovates.ca.