Canadian Biomass • Spring 2021 • Final Thoughts

As the federal and provincial governments start to shift their focus away from the immediate needs of the pandemic to economic recovery, growing the bioeconomy is a priority. The global bioeconomy is growing at a rapid pace, and Nova Scotia is emerging as a leader.

Nova Scotia’s bioeconomy is a regenerative system of sectors made up of new and innovative organizations developing sustainable uses for bioresources and biotechnology. Together, we are creating value from the province’s underutilized renewable resources from the forestry, agriculture, oceans, and solid waste sectors.

This interconnected, circular economy sources, distributes, uses, reuses and finds new applications for renewable bioresources. The bioeconomy lowers our environmental impact and greenhouse gas emissions, providing Nova Scotia with a unique opportunity to build resilience and drive export growth.

Nova Scotia is blessed with several competitive advantages that help support the growth of the bioeconomy. First, we are strategically located among major North American, European and Asian markets. Halifax is the closest major port to Europe, and in close proximity to the Great Circle Route.

In addition to access to global container ports, Nova Scotia’s renewable resource sectors represent a significant portion of the provincial economy. The province has a long history of sustainable management in its forest, agriculture, and ocean sectors, balancing the economic, environmental, and social benefits of natural resources.

Nova Scotia boasts a highly educated workforce that feeds into a thriving research and development and technology sector that is fuelling innovation nationally and internationally. This growing innovation ecosystem has attracted interest from existing, like-minded businesses in the province that have the desire and capacity to act as hosts for bioeconomy projects, offering feedstocks, brownfield sites for co-location, financial resources and other valuable synergies.

When you add in competitive business costs and a great quality of life that helps attract key talent, you have the ingredients needed to support growing businesses in the bioeconomy.

The Nova Scotia Innovation Hub (NSIH) is dedicated to the growth of the bioeconomy in Nova Scotia. We provide a supportive ecosystem, fostering strong collaboration amongst industry, government, and bioeconomy companies.

Simply put, we create and promote best-in-class, investment-ready conditions for a low-carbon bioeconomy.

The bioeconomy harnesses underutilized, renewable resources to fuel economic growth. We are committed to improving and advancing local resources.

This isn’t just about growing the economy – it’s about building a clean economy that is responsible, competitive, and exportable.

The bioeconomy has tremendous potential to provide economic opportunities in rural areas, while supplying sustainable, low-carbon alternative products to world markets.

At the Nova Scotia Innovation Hub, we support our clients with detailed business case development, providing in-depth research conducted on feedstock availability, market opportunities and brownfield sites that are potential co-locations for manufacturing operations.

We provide clients with access to our network of feedstock, manufacturing, market, and financial partners interested in collaborating with bioeconomy businesses. We also help build an advocacy community and advance awareness of new projects, collaborations, and the bioeconomy as a whole, through initiatives such as our webinar series “Sustainable Revenues from Sustainable Products.”

Additionally, the NSIH offers financial and in-kind support to help bioeconomy businesses achieve commercialization milestones that are critical to their success and growth.

Some of the game-changing companies in Nova Scotia we work with include Sustane Technologies, which processes municipal waste into value-added energy products; Maskwiomin, which produces birch bark extract-infused creams, lotions and soaps for skin care based on ethically commercialized traditional Mi’kmaq knowledge; Oberland Agriscience, which produces protein using soldier flies that consume organic wastes and by-products; and Outcast Foods, which produces high-value nutritional powders from surplus produce.

To learn more about how the NSIH is helping to develop Nova Scotia’s bioeocnomy, visit us at www.novascotiainnovationhub. com or contact us at info@novascotiainnovationhub. com.