MPP Stan Cho and Delegates visit Sarnia-Lambton

On Wednesday January 29, 2020, Willowdale Ont., MPP and Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Finance, Stan Cho, visited The Western Sarnia-Lambton Research Park along with Sarnia-Lambton MPP Bob Bailey and delegates.

(from left: MPP- PA to Minister of Finance Stan Cho, Executive Director of Western Sarnia-Lambton Research Park, Katherine Albion, Sarnia-Lambton MPP Bob Bailey & Executive Director of Bioindustrial Innovation Canada, A.J. (Sandy) Marshall - in front of Woodland Biofuels facility)

Executive Director of The Western Sarnia-Lambton Research Park, Katherine Albion, spoke on behalf of the research park which provides offices, technical laboratory and pilot plant space to industries with a focus on commercialization of new products and processes in the area of biotechnology.

Located at the research park is Bioindustrial Innovation Canada (BIC). Established in 2008, BIC is a not-for-profit business accelerator who focuses on critical strategic capital investment in small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with compelling business plans where innovation in science and engineering can bring about major advances in sustainable chemistry.

A.J. (Sandy) Marshall, Executive Director of BIC, presented to Ontario delegates on the continued support and success that BIC brings to SME’s in Southern Ontario, by accelerating the commercialization of clean technologies as well as establishing a new hybrid chemistry cluster in the Eastern County regions.

A tour was then provided to the group which included two of BIC’s investments, Origin Materials and Forward Water Technologies.

In 2017, BIC made an investment in California-based company Origin Materials, which lead to the development of their first commercial scale demo facility in 2018 at the Western Sarnia-Lambton Research Park.

(from left: President of Origin Materials Canada Research and Director of Open Innovation, Alex Ward, MPP- PA to Minister of Finance , Stan Cho, Sarnia-Lambton MPP Bob Bailey & Executive Director of BIC, A.J. (Sandy) Marshall)

Alex Ward, President of Origin Materials Canada Research and Director of Open Innovation, provided a tour of their facilities and oxidation plant to Ontario delegates. Origin Materials uses bio-materials, such as sawdust, as its feedstock and in 2017 formed an alliance with Danone and Nestle Waters to develop and launch a PET plastic bottle made from 100 per cent sustainable and renewable bio-based materials.

Alex also discussed how BIC was able to provide Origin Materials with additional technical resources and guidance on a number of services and trades in the Sarnia-Lambton region.

In 2019, BIC invested in Forward Water Technologies (FWT), which also lead to FWT relocating their technical operations and engineering pilot plant to the Western Sarnia-Lambton Research Park.

(from left: Sarnia-Lambton MPP Bob Bailey, Chief Executive Officer of FWT, Howie Honeyman, MPP- PA to Minister of Finance , Stan Cho & Executive Director of BIC, A.J. (Sandy) Marshall)

FWT’s technology purifies and desalinates wastewater using a proprietary forward osmosis process.

Howie Honeyman, Chief Executive Officer of FWT, provided a tour of their new facilities and plans for further development in Sarnia-Lambton.

To continue to build strong hybrid chemistry value chains and support emerging sustainable chemistry companies in Ontario, Sarnia-Lambton is supported through a unique collaborative ecosystem. This ecosystem includes BIC, The Western-Sarnia Lambton Research Park, Lambton College, the Sarnia-Lambton Economic Partnership (SLEP), The Bluewater Energy Park, Bioindustrial Park Sarnia, and Sarnia-Lambton Industrial Alliance (SLIA).

For more information please contact: Julia Struyf Marketing and Communications Manager Bioindustrial Innovation Canada Email: julias@bincanada.ca Tel: 1.226.778.0020 ext. 249

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About Bioindustrial Innovation Canada (BIC)

Creating jobs and economic value sustainably for Canada is the vision driven by Bioindustrial Innovation Canada (BIC). BIC is a not-for-profit business accelerator for sustainable chemistry, who has created a successful foundation to support an emerging hybrid chemistry cluster in Sarnia-Lambton, Ontario. BIC recognizes that the expansion and development of the bioeconomy in Sarnia-Lambton can grow alongside the petrochemical industry. BIC further focuses on critical strategic capital investment in SME’s with compelling business plans where innovation in science and engineering can bring about major advances in sustainable chemistry. Sustainable chemistry is playing an important role in the development of solutions to the impacts of climate change, peak oil, energy security, the need for safe water, and the use of scarce natural resources. The increasing global demand for green and safer products offers the opportunity to create thousands of new jobs for Canadians. BIC’s proven approach for clean, green and sustainable chemistry-based companies offers an ideal platform for the investment necessary to advance hybrid chemistry value chains, providing not only regional economic development and job benefits, but access to global markets.