FPInnovations and Resolute Forest Products recently announced a significant investment in the implementation of a TMP-Bio pilot project in Thunder Bay, Ontario. The pilot project will focus on developing new ways to efficiently produce and commercialize innovative bio-chemicals derived from wood, contributing to the development of a bio-economy in Northern Ontario, as well as elsewhere in Canada.
The $21 million project is part of an initiative to renew and transform the forest products industry, building on investments made in 2012 by Resolute, the Ontario Centre for Research and Innovation in the Bio-Economy (CRIBE), and Natural Resources Canada. This investment covers cost of capital and R&D and has the support of the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation (NOHFC), CRIBE, FedNor, the City of Thunder Bay CEDC and Natural Resources Canada.
Resolute is contributing $3.5 million and hosting the pilot project at its Thunder Bay pulp and paper mill. TMP-Bio is a patented technology developed by FPInnovations with financial support from Natural Resources Canada’s Transformative Technologies Program.
This project comes at a very opportune time as market interest for sustainably sourced green bio-chemicals and bio-fuels continues to build. The development and availability in significant quantities of bio-sourced chemicals, such as the cellulosic sugars and high-quality H-lignin produced by the TMP-Bio process, is a key step in growing new market value for the forest products sector by connecting it to the bio-chemical supply chain.
