Ottawa, Ontario — The Government of Canada is currently trying to find innovative ways to profit off Canadian wood in a variety of different industries, such as automotive.
Marco Mendicino, minister of immigration, refugees and citizenship on behalf of Seamus O’Regan, minister of natural resources, announced a 1.2 million to GreenNano Technologies Inc., a Toronto based company. The 1.2 million is going towards scaling up production of new lightweight wood-fibre-based composite material to create automotive parts using an innovative process.
“This is another example of the incredible innovation coming out of our forest sector. It is always exciting to see Canadian companies developing new products that will benefit Canadians” said Minister Mendicino.
The project consists of combining wood pulp with polymers to create a special strong and lightweight thermoplastic with more uniform and improved properties compared to other products.
If the new product can be successfully applied in the automotive sector, it could have several consumer and commercial applications, including aerospace parts, pharmaceuticals, solar panels and cosmetics.
“We are pushing our boundaries to transform green innovations in achieving cost-effective, high-throughput technical products, which are energy-efficient and environmentally sound. We are very proud of the project we are undertaking, and we are excited about the partnership we have developed with Natural Resources Canada,” said Samir Konar, vice-president of GreenNano Technologies Inc.
The new material will be tested in production of lightweight cars at Ford Canada’s Power Engineering Research and Development Centre in Windsor, Ont.
Funding for the project is provided through the Investments in Forest Industry Transformation program, which encourages the Canadian forest sector to adopt and implement unique technologies and processes to diversify into new product streams and into emerging markets.
By investing in innovative forest sector technologies, the industry can provide greener solutions that will help tackle climate change and transition to a low-carbon economy.
