Hewers of wood turn to innovation: Thunder Bay will be test-bed for new forest products.

• Author: Ross, Ian
• Position: FORESTRY

The forestry innovation agenda will take shape in the coming weeks for a fledgling bio-economy research institute in northwestern Ontario.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

With $25 million in government start-up money in hand, officials at the Centre for Research and Innovation in the Bio-Economy (CRIBE), a Thunder Bayheadquartered institute are sorting through a shortlist of potential projects in their research pipeline

Just before Christmas, CRIBE announced a formal partnership with FP Innovations, a national forestry research institute, to forge ahead in developing a biorefinery demonstration plant.

It will serve as a test bed to research new uses for wood, pulp and biomass that can be commercialized into next-generation green fuels, fibres, composites and chemicals.

Jean Hamel, FP Innovation's vice-president of pulp and paper, said the few first months of this year will be spent choosing the technology that best fits a small bio-refinery located at a mill site somewhere in northwestern Ontario.

It's not been determined if Thunder Bay's Abitibi-Bowater pulp and paper plant will be the site. "An announcement will come later on," said Hamel.

Though the cost of the potential $8 million technology is being equally shared between the two partners, CRIBE is leading this project, said Hamel.

FP Innovations, which has two engineers in Thunder Bay, intends to staff up their presence in the northwestern city by establishing a satellite office.

"We haven't finalized the choice of the technology we're going to work on," said Hamel.

The mid-term objective is to develop a full-blown bio-refinery.

The bio-refinery is the marquee project of CRIBE, which has an office at Confederation College.

FP Innovations has been an advisor to the organization since last spring when they recommended a project list, both short and long-term, to CRIBE officials, in laying out the best options for a bio-refining facility.

A final report has been given to CRIBE directors with a decision expected in the coming weeks on where they will focus their research and innovation agenda.

Part of FP's study laid the groundwork on how to penetrate potential markets by laying out benefits, costs and performance.

"We began feeling out ideas early last year, by the end of year we were more specific, and shortly we'll be taking a decision on what will be the next step for the demonstration plant," said Hamel.

CRIBE is a not-for-profit institute set up by the Ontario Ministry of Research and...