Launched under Economic Action Plan 2010 and renewed under Economic Action Plan 2014, the Investments in Forest Industry Transformation (IFIT) program is laying the groundwork for a more economically viable and sustainable forest sector by investing in innovative technologies that are leading to a diversified, higher-value mix of products.
The program provides funding for the near-commercial or first-commercial deployment of innovative technologies in the Canadian forest sector — a critical step in taking ideas from the research and development stage to the marketplace.
The IFIT program is helping forest companies attract additional capital from industry partners such as energy and chemical companies that have shown a strong interest in developing bio-based industries.
The program builds upon previous and ongoing federal investments in the research, development and deployment of innovative technologies in the forest sector. It is part of a broad federal strategy that includes expanding market opportunities for the forest sector in North America and overseas.
Natural Resources Canada is investing $10 million under the Investments in Forest Industry Transformation program to support the implementation of a commercial-scale lignin recovery process at a West Fraser plant in Hinton, Alberta.
The facility will be the first in Canada to extract the lignin from its recovery stream for black liquor (a byproduct of the pulping process), enabling it to produce the quantities needed to meet the supply requirements of end-users.
Lignin can be used in the manufacturing of adhesives as well as a variety of innovative derivatives, potentially including polyurethanes.
The West Fraser project is an important and unique advance for lignin recovery operations in Canada. The project positions this facility as a leader in the commercial production of kraft lignin, using the new LignoForce process developed through past federal investments in research and development with FPInnovations and then further engineered by NORAM Engineering.
This project is the evolution of a transformative process that began with an investment in a similar Lignoforce pilot-scale demonstration facility in Thunder Bay, Ontario, which was funded under Natural Resources Canada’s Transformative Technologies Pilot Scale Demonstration Program. That project also received funding from the Government of Ontario and the Centre for Research and Innovation in the Bio-Economy.
Ultimately, this investment will provide economic benefits to the residents of Hinton and the surrounding region, reinforcing 300 existing forestry jobs and creating several new full-time positions.
For more information on the Investments in Forest Industry Transformation program, visit www.forest-transformation.nrcan.gc.ca.
Alexandra Lemieux
Press Secretary
Office of Canada's Minister of Natural Resources and Minister for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario
613-996-2007
Or:
Media Relations
Natural Resources Canada
Ottawa
613-992-4447
Mon.–Fri., 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. EDT
Telephone: 613-995-0947
TTY: 613-996-4397
(teletype for the hearing-impaired)
E-mail: questions@nrcan.gc.ca
Follow us on Twitter: @NRCan (http://twitter.com/nrcan)