In Manitoba, the Composites Innovation Centre has received $2.9 million in funding to advance Canada’s biomass and composites industries.
The Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada funding is part of Canada’s Growing Forward 2, a five-year policy framework implemented in 2013 to boost the nation’s agricultural and agri-food sector. CIC will receive just under $1-million from the program’s AgriMarketing Program to develop quality standards and measuring practices to help commercialize Canadian biomass in the biomaterials, biochemical, biofuels, and bioenergy sectors. It will also receive up to $1.9 million under GF2’s AgriInnovations program to examine how composites’ attributes are impacted by farming practices, crop varieties, and weather. CIC will also develop fiber-reinforced plastic composites for transportation applications.
“Investments such as these could lead to the development of new crops, manufacturing and production opportunities, enhanced competitiveness, improved environmental sustainability and job creation,” says Jim Carr, Minister of Natural Resources.