Support and funding sought for new cooperative materials research initiative

Playing catch-up with the rest of the world

The materials research community is engineering an ambitious proposal to create a national Materials Innovation Cooperative (MIC) that will enhance the research infrastructure of the transportation, construction and energy sectors and give academic researchers widespread access to essential equipment and services for the first time. Long-term plans call for an investment of $60-70 million that would result in a complete refurbishment of Natural Resources Canada’s Materials Technology Laboratory (MTL) including extensive modernization of research facilities.

A so-called Red Ribbon Panel meeting will be held in Ottawa October 25-26, bringing together 36 Canadian and international materials research experts to move the agenda forward and further articulate the future needs of the research community. Before that, however, university researchers have applied to the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) for a Major Facilities Access (MFA) grant to help defray the costs of using MTL facilities. Five universities led by McMaster Univ have spearheaded the application and to date co-applicants have signed on, with October 1 as the deadline for the final proposal.

At this stage, the ultimate success of the multifaceted proposal is uncertain, but for Canadian industry and the research base it draws upon, the stakes are enormous. Canada is one of the few industrialized nations lacking pilot facilities for materials research, which underpins a huge portion of Canada’s economy. Equipment and services supporting materials design, production and evaluation are essential for a well-functioning materials research effort. But Canada lags behind the research infrastructure of the US, Australia and nations in Asia and Europe which are becoming increasingly sophisticated and globally competitive.

In addition, federal laboratories deemed technology centres are compelled by Treasury Board to secure an increasing amount of operating revenue from contract research, hindering a progressive research effort and access by the university community.

There’s no doubt that much of MTL’s infrastructure is world class. With a staff of 150 and 23,000-sq-m of space, it offers a wide variety of research and research services, but Program Review and ongoing budget constraints have hindered its ability to increase its innovation capacity. The Ottawa facility was built nearly 60 years ago and is in urgent need of upgrading to continue serving industry. Estimates calls for $25 million for new and upgraded research facilities, while up to $40 million is needed to upgrade the building. Several key research-ers are also suggesting that another option is start from scratch and built a new facility where it can be most effective and interact with the largest number of industry and university researchers.

“Other nations have pilot scale facilities that we don’t have giving them faster technology transfer from their universities to the factory floor,” says Jenny Jackman, MTL’s executive director. “Most of Canada’s competitors have a jump on us in this regard… The model for the MIC is to operate out of more than one location but have one centralized location for pilot scale work and the three legs of advanced materials research: design, production and evaluation (micro-structural characterization).”

MTL is supportive of the university community’s application for a NSERC MFA grant and has provided assistance in the proposal’s development. If it passes peer review and is approved, NSERC would provide three years of funding ($750,000 in the first year to $1.9 million in the third year) to defray the cost of researchers seeking to use MTL facilities. The proposed governance structure for the MFA grant is based on model used by the National Research Council when it assumed operation of the neutron laboratory at Chalk River ON, the first time a federal research facility won MFA funding. The model also calls for a manager to be hired by McMaster Univ (the lead applicant), located at the MTL facilities and overseen by a governing board.

But Jackman says that’s only the first step to ensuring that the future needs of a globally competitive materials research community are met. If the MFA application is successful, consideration will be given to seek funding from for Canada Foundation for Innovation, which would also have to be applied for by the academic community.

FUNDING OPTIONS BEING EXPLORED

For its part, MTL is exploring several potential funding options including an increase in funding through the central agencies, increased support from industry and even financial participation by the provinces. Given the high cost of research equipment and facilities, she says it makes good sense to establish a cooperative structure with shared governance and funding.

“This level of integration has not been tried before so it’s really a step ahead,” she says. “It makes sense to consolidate and share facilities and equipment between the government, academics and the industrial community.”

It’s estimated that the manufacturers of products for the construction, transportation and energy sectors contribute $78 billion toward national gross domestic product and employ nearly one million people. The implications of materials research can be measured in terms of new materials that are high-strength, lightweight, durable and corrosion-resistant.

Issues such as recyclability, materials waste management, total life-cycles management, cost sensitivities and specific performance needs are common to many industries where value-added use of minerals and metals forms a core part of their businesses.

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