Canada’s renewable fuel industry is expecting significant benefit from new government innovation money available under the Growing Forward 2 policy framework, says an industry leader.
The new policy framework includes a federal-provincial AgriInnovation fund that will potentially make hundreds of millions of dollars available over five years to companies that apply for funding for product or process innovation projects.
However, the industry also heard bad news in recent government financial announcements.
The end of a capital grant program for construction of biodiesel production capacity announced in the March federal budget is a blow for the industry, Canadian Renewable Fuels Association president W. Scott Thurlow said.
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The government had signalled the end of the EcoAgriculture Biofuels Capital Initiative, but Thurlow said it comes prematurely for the biodiesel sector.
He said that without production capacity, the sector is able to produce only one-third of the 600 million litres of product required under Canada’s biodiesel mandate policy.
“It means Canadian canola is being shipped into the United States, refined and shipped back to meet the mandate,” Thurlow said.
The CRFA had asked that government keep open the biodiesel side of the program but was refused.
“We are not happy, but we understand government fiscal priorities and we will be talking about the next fiscal year.”
Thurlow said the capital program helped expand ethanol production capacity.
Now, the industry opportunity comes from a five-year government commitment to innovation in the new Growing Forward agreement.
“The focus on innovation and the AgriInnovation side is something we very much support,” he said.
“My members are very much interested in its potential.”
AgriInvest is part of a science, innovation and adaptation fund that federal and provincial governments will finance over the next five years, making funds available for projects co-funded by industry.
Ottawa projects almost $900 million in spending on the broad re-search, innovation and adoption file over the next three years.
Thurlow said the fund could help the industry move to the next generation of cellulosic biofuel production by funding projects to advance the technology.
Companies could also apply for project funding to increase product value from existing grain-based feedstocks that could return higher prices to farmers.
“We know they (CRFA members) are looking at the Growing Forward framework as a vehicle for getting more value from that feed stock,” he said.
“The fact is it is coming from federal and provincial, tied to industry investment. That’s the key.”
