attendees to meet and discuss bioenergy opportunities with senior business interests from other countries. With the support of additional Canadian dignitaries from other embassies across Europe, delegates were introduced to valuable international con-tacts to help drive national business inter-ests forward. THE CANADIAN PRESENCE The presence of the Canadian government extended well beyond the networking re-ception. In fact, the work of the Govern-ment of Canada’s Trade Commissioner Service helped create some of the best buzz on the trade show floor. The service helped organize the Canada Speaker’s Corner, fea-turing daily presentations based on nation-al capabilities, innovations and investment opportunities in bioenergy. There was great interest shown by inter-national delegates in the research and de-velopment being done in the bioenergy in-dustry in Canada. Mark Ryans, the research manager for FPInnovations, spoke about the number of facilities across Canada that are conducting leading international research on products like nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC). That discussion also included talk of the pilot lignin precipitation facilities located at the Bioeconomy Centre in Thunder Bay. Promotion of Canada’s emerging bioen-ergy innovations was also at the heart of a presentation from Rolf Fyne, the director of business development Europe, trade and invest British Columbia. Fyne talked to the crowd of international delegates about the 1,300 clean tech companies that currently operate in the province, which is also home to 24 clean tech research centres and insti-tutions. He also made special mention of companies in British Columbia doing inno-vative work gaining international attention, for example, Nexterra, Dynamotive, Lignol and Altentech Power Inc. OPPORTUNITIES FOR INVESTMENT Fyne also pushed British Columbia as an optimal location for foreign investment in the bioenergy industry, as it is one of the only Canadian provinces that had interna-tional trade representatives promoting op-portunities in the expanding market. With 16 million hectares of “red attack” and “grey attack” lands holding unused fi-bre that needs to be collected, and 54 mil-lion hectares of certified wood, there are opportunities in B.C. for removal of the high-quality wood sources through fibre supply agreements. It was stressed that corporate partners are already coming on board, with over 500,000 tonnes of an-nual pellet production already committed. However, new foreign investments had to happen under the purview of the EURO 20:20:20 agreement according to Fyne. In addition to the investment oppor-tunity in wood supply and wood sources, British Columbia was touted as an excel-lent place to invest in small district heating plants for some of the smaller communities spread throughout the province. Stressing the high cost of B.C. Hydro’s import of die-sel fuels for power generation, district heat-ing using woody biomass was pitched as a sound investment. For Ontario, advantages offered through the province’s feed-in tariff system provide excellent opportunities for foreign invest-ment in bioenergy according to Angela Spreng, commercial officer with the Ontario Our experience makes all the difference We have an experienced team at every stage of a project. We provide design, manufacturing, installation for all your dust collection and air conveying needs. air Filtration pellets plants ProduCts › air pulse › silo › industrial duct › abort gate › screw and belt conveyor › air density separator ✓ Our prOducts are designed and manufactured tO the highest standards in regards tO market specificatiOns. dust collector › Cyclone › Multicyclone › Fan › rotary air lock 1890, 1 st Street, Industrial Center St-Romuald, Quebec G6W 5M6 Tel.: 418 839-0400 Fax: 418 839-0201 www.rodriguemetal.com Canadian BIOMASS 17
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