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.

BioNB, a co-host of the Atlantic Biorefinery Conference, is coordinating attendance to a number of upcoming conferences and events for bio-based technologies and businesses. Ask Jennifer O'Donnell about any of the opportunities below:

• BIO International Convention in San Francisco (June 6th - 9th, 2016)
  • BioNB and its Atlantic partners are coordinating an Atlantic Canadian delegation to BIO, the world' largest showcase for bio-based industries. Learn more.
• Accelerating Agri-Technology Innovation Summit (February 10th-11th, 2016)
  • Join the movers and shakers of Atlantic Canada's agriculture and food technology sector to talk trends & technology. Learn more.
• Networking in the Netherlands: Mission to Eco-Bio (March 6th - 9th, 2016) and World Bio Markets (March 14th - 17th, 2016)
  • BioNB is heading to back-to-back bio-economy conferences in the Netherlands.. Join the marathon European networking mission and let BioNB introduce you to potential export partners, soft landings, new technologies and open your eyes to the largest global market for bio-based products, chemicals and energy. Contact Jenn.
• World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology (April 17th-20th, 2016)
  • ​Join the world's largest industrial biotechnology event for business leaders! This is a must attend event for any company or research organization working on natural resource transformation. Ask Jenn how BioNB can support your attendance.

The coal industry in the U.S. is struggling, with industry giant Arch Coal filing for bankruptcy last week.
Also last week President Obama halted new coal leases on federal lands until the benefits to taxpayers and impact on the environment are reviewed.
 
While it’s clear that energy from natural gas and renewables are viable alternatives to coal, a new future for coal may also exist. New technologies rooted in bioconversion pathways and genomics may provide the solution. A research team based at the University of Alberta and involving collaborators at a number of other institutions are developing greener processes to extract energy from coal by harnessing the power of microbes.

The bioconversion of coal to methane has potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and repurpose abandoned underground coal mines.  Learn more at Genome Alberta’s blog about a proposal to develop microbial conversion of coal to methane in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. The Verschuren Centre and New Paradigm Engineering are key partners in this initiative.

BioFuelNet Canada (BFN) is announcing ten (10) calls for proposals for
research to be conducted in the period of 2017-2022. The focus is in the
areas of biomass feedstock (2 projects), conversion technology (4
projects), engines and combustion (1 project) and social, economic and
environmental sustainability (3 projects). This call for proposals is open
to anyone meeting the eligibility criteria of NSERC or SSHRC. There is no
requirement for the applicant to have already participated in BFN. Maximum
grants range from $45k up to $90k per year, depending on the Project.
Applicants are limited to submitting two (2) applications for funding.

Please click here to visit the application website. All submissions must
be received no later than 20:00h on February 12th, 2016.
​
For questions related to eligibility, contact Xiaomin Zhou at
[email protected]. For questions related to the applications website,
contact Jorin Mamen at [email protected].

Going into its fifth year, the Atlantic Biorefinery Conference has built a reputation for being the premier Canadian conference for researchers and members of industry to spark discussion and form partnerships in biorefining, bioprocessing, and renewables.

The 2016 Atlantic Biorefinery Conference will take place at Pier 21 and the Westin Nova Scotian in Halifax, Nova Scotia May 30th - June 1st. Stay connected to conference updates by signing up for our mailing list and following our blog. We also invite you to explore our "Resources from 2015" section to reflect on last year's discussion topics and gain insight into what to expect in 2016.

Feel free to get in touch with us for any questions or to share your thoughts on the upcoming conference.

"We have invented bioconcrete -that's concrete that heals itself using bacteria", says Henk Jonkers of Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands.

No matter how its mixed or reinforced, concrete cracks. These cracks can often lead to collapse.

If you have cracks, water comes through -- in your basements, in a parking garage. Secondly, if this water gets to the steel reinforcements -- in concrete we have all these steel rebars -- if they corrode, the structure collapses."

Jonkers, a microbiologist, has discovered a way to give concrete a longer life by mixing concrete with a "healing agent". Meet Bioconcrete.


Bioconcrete is mixed like normal concrete but with added bacteria that can dissolve and activate once the concrete cracks and water gets in.


Jonkers had to find a bacteria that could survive the harsh, dry, alkaline conditions of concrete but also able to produce the repair material.


He chose bacillus bacteria because they thrive in alkaline conditions and produce spores that can survive for ages without oxygen or food. 


The next issue was to find a food source for the bacteria so they could create the repair material - limestone. Sugar was an option, but adding it straight to the concrete mix made the mix soft and weak.

Jonkers chose calcium lactate, and combined it with the bacteria then set it in capsules to be added to the mix. The capsules would only open once cracks form in the concrete and water gets in.

The bacteria germinate, feed on the lactate and multiply. They then combine the calcium with carbonite ions to form calcite (limestone) which fills in the cracks.

Is this a new age for biological buildings? Read more at CNN.com.

Why do we host the Atlantic Biorefinery Conference? The short answer is that it serves a need in a region with a strong biorefining cluster. The long answer can be found below, in BioNB's Biorefining and Bioprocessing brochure. For the even longer answer, join us at the Atlantic Biorefinery Conference and experience first-hand the world-class biorefining technologies coming out of the New Brunswick, the Atlantic Region, across Canada, and from our colleagues from the Netherlands.