FPInnovations receives $20.6-million top-up; even more expected in next Budget

Top up for large transformative projects

FPInnovations has received $20.6 million from Natural Resources Canada to extend funding of large transformative technology projects in its Collaborative Research Program for another year. The funding comes prior to the federal Budget which may respond to a joint FPI-FIBRE (Forest Innovation By Research and Education) request for $60 million over five years to maintain academic forestry research networks administered by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC).

The new funding for FY15-16 will further FPI's support for world-first initiatives such as a nanocrystalline cellulose plant in Quebec in conjunction with Domtar and a cellulose filament (CF) demonstration pilot plant at a Kruger-owned paper mill in Trois-Rivières, as well as a 13-storey, 41-metre wood condo unit in Quebec City — the tallest residential solid wood structure in North America.

"We're at the point of transition. We need to go further. The last time these programs were funded was for three years so we've been at this for four years now," says Pierre Lapointe, FPI's president and CEO. "(Many projects are) moving to commercialization."

Although Lapointe says FPI would prefer three-to-five year funding commitments, he says there's an upside to the one-year extension provided in the latest announcement.

"It gives you an opportunity to educate politicians. I recently appeared before the (House) Standing Committee on Natural Resources and shared the impact of our R&D on the industry," he says.

Fast track existing projects

The latest funding will also enable FPI to fast track some of its more innovative projects, such as the thermo mechanical pulp conversion into sugars for use in the chemical industry in Sarnia ON to replace petrochemical sources.

If FPI and NSERC are successful in their Budget proposal, other new areas of R&D could open up, such as the use of drones for intelligent forest inventory to more accurately identify species, and the "sawmill of the future" concept.

"This involves scanning every piece of the tree and designing the best product out of the geometry of that tree," says Lapointe. "It will also help in logistics, determining the best tree for the right sawmill."

As the not-for-profit arm of the forestry industry, FPI has been on a roll since its formation in 2007 through the merger of three existing R&D organizations — Pulp and Paper Research Institute of Canada (PAPRICAN), the Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada (FERIC) and Forintek Canada Corp (R$, March 8/07).

Headquartered in Pointe-Claire QC with operations in Vancouver, Edmonton and Quebec City, FPI has a staff of about 525 and an annual budget of approximately $100 million.

FPI maintains strong collaborative ties to NSERC, which administers a suite of forestry research networks under the FIBRE banner. NSERC funding expires at the end of this FY, however, prompting FPI to jointly request new funding in the next Budget through the Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC).

But Lapointe says the focus of the networks will likely change under any new funding to reflect the evolving R&D needs of the sector.

"We will still have the network structure but we will have one in the area of intelligent inventory (drones)," he says. "There's a proposal to fund this and create a new centre of excellence. We are a bit late to the game in this area but it will have a major economic impact on the ground."

The sector is also gunning for access to the largely untapped $500-million NextGen Biofuels Fund, which is administered by Sustainable Development Technology Canada. The fund was established in 2007 and has remained virtually untouched, prompting FPAC to include it in its pre-Budget submission (R$, September 24/14).

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