Government funding reaches biofuels research in Canada

The Canadian government is set to make two investments into the biofuels and biorefining industries.

A CN$600,000 (€444,500) investment by Agriculture and AgriFood Canada will go to aid studies by the Alberta Sugar Growers as it looks into the use of sugar and energy beets as biobutanol, plastics and fibres.

‘This funding will allow us to bring green technology and significant outside investment to Alberta,’ said ASG president Rob Boras. ‘Once this project is completed we expect to see that energy beets are a viable feedstock for the technology being tested and that they are commercially viable from a technical and an economic standpoint.’

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada also announced a combined investment with Western Economic Diversification Canada of up to $911,000 to help a POS Biosciences pilot plant purchase and installation of short-path distillation equipment a reality.

Both investments are supported by the Canadian Agricultural Adaptation Programme, a five-year, $163 million initiative launched in 2009.