Strengthening Canada’s bioindustrial sector through research and innovation is a critical step towards enhancing the nation’s competitiveness and paving the way for a sustainable future.
On behalf of the Honorable Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, Peter Fragiskatos, Member of Parliament for London North Centre, announced that Bioindustrial Innovation Canada (BIC) will receive up to CA$6.6 million through the AgriScience Program’s Clusters Component. This is an initiative under the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership.
BIC is a not-for-profit business accelerator focused on clean, green, and sustainable technologies, providing strategic investment, advice, and services to businesses in the sector.
Unlocking Canada’s Bioeconomy
More than 140 forest bioeconomy companies are actively innovating across Canada, creating a dynamic and promising technology value chain. Despite this, Canada lags behind countries like Finland and the U.S. in having a formal, cohesive government strategy to support the bioeconomy.
For instance, the Biden administration has committed $2 billion to biomanufacturing in the U.S., demonstrating a significant “all-of-government” approach.
Sue Coueslan, vice-president of strategies and partnerships at Natural Products Canada, highlighted Canada’s key assets in the bioeconomy. These include extensive access to biomass, strong primary sectors with deep expertise, a skilled workforce, and a growing bioeconomy. These strengths position Canada to potentially capture a $1-trillion opportunity in various areas, namely:
- water and waste treatment,
- bioproducts and sustainability,
- health and nutrition,
- animal health, and
- value-added agriculture.
However, to fully capitalize on this opportunity, Coueslan emphasized the need for Canada to recognize the bioeconomy as a national priority. This would require a whole-of-government commitment and the establishment of a national framework to overcome jurisdictional silos and drive cohesive, cross-sectoral growth.
This is where the CA$6.6 million BIC funding can help to jumpstart the industry.
Turning Waste into Wealth
The funding will support the Bioproducts Cluster, led by BIC, in developing advanced technologies that convert renewable resources, such as agricultural residues, into valuable bioenergy, biofuels, and biomaterials. These include products like ethanol and biodegradable plastics. They are essential for supporting the transition to a renewable-based economy and reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
The research will focus on improving biomass production, creating new bioproducts from Canadian crops, and turning by-products into value-added commodities.
The bioeconomy involves using renewable biological resources to produce food, goods, and energy sustainably, driving economic growth. In 2015, Canadian industrial bioproducts producers used about 22 million metric tonnes of biomass, with around 43% sourced from the agricultural sector.
For the same year, the revenue from Canadian industrial bioproducts was estimated at CA$4.27 billion. By 2030, the global bioeconomy is projected to reach CA$10.5 trillion annually, with Canada’s share expected to rise to CA$240 billion.
Canada’s Push to Compete in Bioindustrial Innovation
Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food that the Bioproducts Cluster is helping to find green solutions that maximize resource use. He further noted that:
“This funding will provide new opportunities for our farmers to profit from agricultural by-products that would otherwise go to waste. It’s a win for farmers and a step toward a more sustainable future for all Canadians.”
Meaghan Seagrave, Executive Director, Bioindustrial Innovation Canada remarked that integrating agricultural feedstocks and bioproducts into various industry value chains will enhance Canada’s agricultural prospects and support industrial decarbonization.
BIC has previously received significant funding, including CA$5.5 million through the Growing Forward 2 framework and CA$11.2 million through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership framework. The AgriScience Program, under the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership, aims to accelerate innovation by funding pre-commercial science activities and research that benefit Canada’s agriculture and agri-food sector.
- READ MORE: The Evolution of Biomass and Its Generations
The Clusters Component specifically supports projects that mobilize industry, government, and academia through partnerships to address priority national themes and horizontal issues.
Canada’s strategic investment in BIC marks a significant step toward enhancing the nation’s bioindustrial sector. As Canada positions itself to capture a larger share of the global bioeconomy, this initiative underscores the importance of a cohesive national strategy to remain competitive and achieve long-term sustainability goals.
