Council for biomaterials receives $6 million in provincial funding

Guelph, Ont.-based Ontario BioAuto Council has received $6 million from the Ontario government as part of the province’s environment-related budgetary spending. The council is trying to link bio-based feedstocks from the agriculture and forestry sectors with the chemical and plastics industries.

“Today the Government of Ontario made another important investment in Ontario’s future as a leader in the bio-economy,” said the council’s executive director Terry Daynard in a Mar. 22 press release. “The funding for the Bio Auto Council will help us move forward with our commitment to building new commercial opportunities based on biological feedstocks for Ontario’s leading industrial sectors.”

The council wants bio-based materials, such as flexible foams and rigid plastics, to be supplied to auto-parts manufacturers and auto assemblers for incorporation in Ontario-made cars and trucks. It is also working to identify other markets for bio-based materials, such as the packaging and construction sectors.

“Forestry, agriculture and the polymer industry linked to the manufacture of automobile parts, and other related higher-value, quality dependent materials, represents a unique opportunity for Ontario to capture a substantial share of what is projected to be a $50billion global market for bio-based plastics by the year 2015,” said council chair Bernard West. West is the former president of Toronto, Ont.-based Canada Colors and Chemicals Limited.

The council, which has the ultimate goal of boosting Ontario’s global position in the biomaterials market, also received $255,000 from the Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation earlier this month.