WATERDOWN–By year's end SunOpta BioProcess Inc. expects to break ground on a $16.6 million demonstration plant here that can convert wood chips into next-generation ethanol fuel and an increasingly popular sugar substitute called xylitol.
The federal government will be covering a third of the bill.
Natural Resources Minister Lisa Raitt announced Tuesday that SunOpta will receive $5.5 million toward its project through granting agency Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC).
It's a sweet deal, one of 16 disclosed on Tuesday as part of a $58 million funding round aimed at getting clean technology innovation out of the labs and into the marketplace.
"This is an industry that will mean new jobs for Canadians," said Raitt.
SDTC has completed 15 funding rounds since it was formed in 2002, putting $464 million into 183 projects and leveraging another $1 billion from the private sector.
In addition to SunOpta, three other Ontario-based companies received grants in the latest round:
Sarnia-based Entropex will demonstrate a process that takes non-recycled plastics from municipal waste streams and blends them together into a high-quality resin that can be used on consumer products.
Morgan Solar of Toronto will demonstrate its concentrated solar photovoltaic modules, which promise to dramatically reduce the cost of producing solar power.
MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates will deploy a camera system that can detect ice on airplane wings so maintenance crews don't have to overrely on de-icing fluid, which is toxic and leaches into soil.
Vicky Sharpe, chief executive of SDTC, emphasized the importance of funding technologies that achieve both environmental and economic goals.
"Otherwise it won't last," said Sharpe, pointing to a Chinese delegation in the room that is interested in licensing SunOpta's cellulosic-ethanol technology. "I think there's a lot of opportunity to get some early exports in this area."
SDTC has $86 million left in its fund, most reserved for projects to clean up soil and water. That money will run out later this year. It's uncertain whether the federal government plans to recapitalize the popular program.
Raitt said all environmental programs are under review. Asked if there will be money for SDTC in the upcoming federal budget, Raitt could not say. "I don't know the answer to that."
Tuesday's announcement came a day after Raitt identified 19 projects across the country that will get access to $146 million set aside in a new Clean Energy Fund, which was created as part of a larger stimulus package in the last federal budget.
Three Ontario projects were chosen, including one that will investigate the use of in-river hydro turbines for power generation.
The second project will explore solar-thermal technology for heating homes, and the third will look at using old batteries from electric cars as a way to store energy from renewable-power projects.
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