Biomass Innovation Centre

History

Since establishment in the spring of 2009, the Biomass Innovation Centre has been involved in various initiatives:

May 2012 – The BIC, in partnership with RDÉE Ontario, led a ten-day Bioenergy Mission to Europe, which joined with the Canadian Bioenergy Association’s mission in Sweden. Participants attended World Bioenergy 2012 in Jönköping, Sweden, and visited additional renewable energy sites in Denmark and Germany. The purpose of the trip was to help accelerate projects in northern Ontario. Click here for more information about the trip.

April 2012 – The BIC presented a special session entitled Biomass Harvesting in the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Forest: From the Forest to the Mill. This day long special session was delivered in conjunction with the Forestry Research Partnership’s Great Lakes – St. Lawrence Forest Science Seminar and included seven speakers on topics ranging from harvesting to processing and more in the GLSL forest region of Ontario.
Click here to view the conference proceedings.

November 2011 – The BIC organized a second Harnessing Biomass conference entitled Support for Northern Ontario Bioeconomy Initiatives. The two day conference included five technical sessions and an afternoon field tour. The varied technical program attracted over 100 individuals to the event. Click here to view the conference proceedings.

September 2011 – The BIC also organized an afternoon biomass technical session at the Canadian Institute of Forestry’s 103rd AGM & Conference. The session entitled FROM FOSSIL FUEL TO FIBRE: moving Canada’s forest bioeconomy forward drew a crowd of approximately 100 forestry professionals. To view the conference proceedings, Click here

September 2011 – The BIC organized a seminar for the general public in conjunction with the Canadian Institute of Forestry’s 103rd AGM & Conference. Our guest speaker was Dr. Lasse Okkonen from the North Karelia University of Applied Sciences in Finland and his talk was entitled Developing Business Models for Local Forest Energy. Click here to view the seminar proceedings.

July 2011 - The BIC received an Education Grant from the Community Energy Partnerships Program (administered by Ontario Power Authority). The project is intended to engage interested municipal leaders, community stakeholders and residents from four communities within the Blue Sky Region of Northern Ontario. The goals are to build awareness around the need for sustainable renewable energy, educate on the various options that are available, inspire action through case studies and best practices, facilitate the development of a sustainable energy vision and action plan for each community, provide technical support to assist with the planning and development of a community sustainable renewable energy project, and establish an ongoing website, network and resource centre containing all of the workshop materials, design, toolkits, etc. For more information about the project, Click here, or visit blueskyenergy.ca.

May 2011 - The BIC received funding from the Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP) to help provide support for northern Ontario communities and Canadian SMEs by organizing a seminar and producing communication materials. The seminars and communication materials were intended to support local forest/agriculture dependent communities in northern Ontario by increasing participants’ knowledge about the bioenergy sector.

March 2011 - The BIC is part of an exchange partnership that Nipissing University has entered into with other Canadian and European Union institutions. The EUCan BioPower Project aims to enhance the relationship between Canada and European Union institutions through the reinforcement of collaboration in the field of renewable bioenergy. It aims at promoting awareness, knowledge, educational know-how and innovations in renewable energy, as well as the positive impact of sustainable development as a solution to the preservation of the world’s natural resources and the environment. Click here to learn more about this unique partnership.

March 2010 - The BIC received a grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation - Future Fund Grant - Building Skills for the Green Economy. The purpose of the grant is to help establish biomass as one of the new clean technologies in the province and to support the economic growth of northern Ontario by developing workforce skills and knowledge in a range of jobs and professions. Under the grant we are developing a broad range of workshops, seminars, certificate programs and course curriculum to address the anticipated training needs in the bioenergy sector. Click here to see the project details.

January 2010 – The BIC submitted comments to the Proposed Northern Ontario Growth Plan, specifically suggesting ammendments to the forestry, green energy and bioeconomy sections.

January 2010 - As a result of the conference, the BIC prepared a document that listed the much needed forest biomass R&D requirements - ranging from policy to research to education. Click here to view the 21 recommendations that were compiled by various partners.

October 2009 - Following the conference, the BIC worked with northern Mayors who signed a proclamation calling for the development of biomass as a clean, affordable, renewable, carbon friendly fuel for heating and power given that it is right here in our own backyard.

October 2009 - The BIC organized a high profile conference that sold out with over 450 participants as it brought together over 60 speakers to explore HARNESSING BIOMASS: from the forest to the marketplace. The proceedings from the conference were published in the Jan/Feb 2011 issue of the Forestry Chronicle. Click here to take a look at the conference proceedings.