GreenCentre Canada among three CECRs to receive extended funding for five more years

Half of the 2009 class of the Centres of Excellence in Commercialization and Research (CECR) have been approved for federal support beyond their initial five-year funding commitment, following a recent review of their operations and bids for extended assistance. The review gave follow-on funding totalling $22.2 million over five years to three CECRs — Green Centre Canada, Canadian Digital Media Network and Ocean Networks Canada Innovation Centre.

The other CECRs launched in 2009 — Centre for Surgical Invention and Innovation (Hamilton), Centre of Excellence in Energy Efficiency (Shawinigan QC) and Tecterra (Calgary) — were not renewed, although they may continue to operate with alternate funding sources.

A review of the original slate of CECRs launched in 2008 was held earlier this year, with just four out of 11 receiving a funding extension. The two reviews have cut the program in half, from 22 to 11.

Of those that were successful in the most recent review, Green Centre Canada (GCC) epitomizes kind of CECR the program is seeking to perpetuate. GCC focuses on green chemistry and has spent the first five years establishing a massive list of partnerships, a 13-member industrial member consortium, a powerful roster of expertise and extensive in-house laboratory facilities.

With that has come considerable licensing and spin-off activity, setting the stage for the second five years which will see a move towards self-sustainability and renewal of GCC's goal of establishing a US subsidiary.

"Green Centre Canada has developed an unmatched ability to build in market pull with multinationals as captive audiences for our technology output," says GCC executive director Dr Rui Resendes. "We also have every facet of what a young company needs and the associated infrastructure."

It has working relationships with more 300 companies of all sizes — both domestic and foreign-owned — and has more than 500 technology disclosures to its credit. And although it fell just shy of its original goals for revenue generation, it still attracted $5.5 million in external funding and $1.5 million in licensing revenue.

Extension funding from the CECR program is $9.1 million, the same amount it received in 2009 (R$, March 16/09). GCC also received $13.1 million from Ontario's Ministry of Research and Innovation and is currently in discussions for renewed funding.

If successful at the provincial level, GCC will be able to ramp up its pilot production capacity to further de-risk opportunities to make them more marketable, says Resendes.

"We have an aggressive but credible business plan (but) it's contingent upon getting full funding," he says. "We have strong relationships with the investment community, especially with the resurgent clean tech sector."

Those relationships will be key as GCC forges ahead with a US subsidiary. Incorporated earlier this year as a not-for-profit organization, GCC USA will be located in Pittsburgh PA to tap into the far larger pool of green chemistry opportunities south of the border.

"It's all about re-inventing value chains with green chemistry through access to the best technologies on a global level. It will mutually benefit Canada by importing technologies into Can ada and exporting Canadian technologies to the US. It's all about wealth creation," says Resendes. "There's no similar model for green chemistry in the world and we have progressive governments backing us. Right now we're working with California-based lead investors to develop a business plan and seek seed funding for GCC USA. Then hopefully it will be GCC Asia and GCC Europe.

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