The Chinese city of Shenzhen will tackle its serious waste problem by burning 5,000 tonnes of it a day in what is on track to be the world's largest waste-to-energy plant in the world.

Measuring over a mile across, the massive structure will be built by ​two Danish architecht firms. Located in the outskirts of Shenzhen, the plant is expected to be complete by 2020.

The Schenzhen East Waste to Energy Plant will incinerate one third of the waste generated by the city's 20 million residents and turn it into reusable energy. Some activists groups have expressed concern over the environmental impact of the CO2 release, but the payoff is considered "worth it" with the massive dent that the Plant will make into the landfills and illegal dumps that are building up in China. Reportedly, one landfill killed dozens of people when it unexpectedly collapsed last year.

"Waste-to-energy plants are not an energy solution" says Chris Hardie from Schimidt Hammer Lassen Architects, adding that the amount of greenhouse gases emitted from decomposing landfills is around double the CO2 released by incineration (source).

"They are a way of dealing with waste and using this process to generate electricity as a byproduct of the process. Cities have to move towards more recycling and reducing their waste for sure - and of course developing more sources of renewable energy. That is sort of the point we are making by proposing this be the first waste-to-energy plant that has a renewable component to it," he said.

Click here to read more and view an animated video about the Shenzhen East Waste-to-Energy Plant.

Fredericton, New Brunswick-based Mycodev Group is a biotechnology company focused on bringing to market a versatile pharmaceutical ingredient called chitosan. Co-Founder and CTO David Brown says his company takes a novel approach to producing its chitosan; it comes entirely from fungus.

Similar to how beer is brewed, Mycodev grows large amounts of fungus via a submerged fermentation process. From there they extract the chitosan, which is sold in powder form.
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Brown co-founded Mycodev three years ago with his business partner, CEO Brennan Sisk. Both are New Brunswick natives and the duo is thrilled to be seeing entrepreneurial success right in their home province.

Opportunities NB (ONB) recently spoke to David Brown to learn more.

Click here to read the full Q&A.

Minister of Innovation, Science, and Economic Development Navdeep Bains announced today in Charlottetown a $14 million federal contribution to establish Natural Products Canada Inc., a new national Centre for Commercialization and Research (CECR) that will accelerate the commercialization of new products and technologies derived from natural products.

Natural Products Canada will be led from Prince Edward Island and includes key partners in PEI (PEI BioAlliance as NPC Atlantic), Saskatchewan (AgWest Bio as NPC West), Ontario (Ontario Bioscience Innovation Organization as NPC Ontario), and Quebec (Institute for Nutrition and Functional Foods as NPC Quebec). The federal contribution will be matched by over $10 million from industry and other sources, for total funding of over $24 million over the next five years.

Click here to read the full press release.

A Chester-based company that turns municipal waste into valuable products is receiving a $100,000 seed investment from Innovacorp to take its technology to market.

Sustane Technologies Inc. is the provincial winner of the I-3 Technology Start-Up Competition, ending a five-month search to find the best start-ups in Nova Scotia.

Sustane has developed a system that enables complete recycling of municipal solid waste, potentially eliminating the need for landfills. Its technology transforms waste into clean, value-added products such as biomass fuel pellets and biofuels. After completing its initial full-scale plant in Chester, the company will deliver its solution to municipalities around the world.

Visit sustane.co.

The UNB Wood Science and Technology Centre is hosting a 2-day conference to explore emerging product and market trends and how to take advantage of them. The Centre has secured funding to pursue the development of a wood technology cluster in the region and this event is a fresh step toward fostering education and networking between stakeholders.

This one-day Symposium leads into the Atlantic Building Supply Dealers Association Tradeshow (ABSDA). Attendees are invited to attend both events. Contact Fred Nott for questions 506-451-6987.

Registration and contact information: click here

Agenda and speakers: click here

Event context:

The US housing market is showing signs of strength. The low Canadian dollar provides a significant export advantage. New engineered wood products have the potential to expand the use of wood in commercial and institutional construction up to 10 and 12 storeys high. Innovation in wood products manufacturing and use is reaching a rapid pace and it is critical that Atlantic Canada’s forest and wood products industries keep abreast of these trends. This session will address emerging product and market trends and how to take advantage of them.

Click here for more information.