former Weyerhaeuser oriented strand board plant, where the current wood industry and power plant and future in- dustry will operate in concert. The exist- ing industries’ waste will be used to cre- ate new products, optimizing wood fibre use and integrating operations within the mile. Bio-Mile project co-ordinator Patty Pi- ironen was hired in early November to assist the project partners in removing barriers and making connections. She sees the gathering of complementary, co- located companies as a model that can be extended throughout Alberta. “It’s a synergistic approach, where one’s waste is another’s feedstock,” she explains. Current partners include Weyerhaeus- er, TTS (Tekle Technical Services), Otoka Energy, Drayton Valley, and surrounding Brazeau County. The most recent addi- tion is the prestigious CLIB 2021 (Cluster Industrielle Biotechnologie), a Germany- based research cluster. CLIB 2021 opened its North American headquarters at the town offices in early November 2009 and aims to advance the field of biotechnologi- cal science and technology by exploring avenues for research, development, and production of biochemical feedstocks from agricultural and forestry biomass. The nova-Institut (a CLIB 2021 mem- ber company) and the Department of Mechanical Engineering of the Univer- sity of Alberta are two main partners in a research project studying technological challenges related to the conversion of lignocellulosic materials into syngas and then into chemicals and wood-based de- rivatives. They will evaluate the econom- ics and environmental aspects of various conversion processes and perform mar- ket analyses of the bioproducts for North American and European markets. In August, Edmonton-based TTS ”TAKING YOU FROM KNOW-HOW TO SHOW-HOW” WORLD BIOENERGY 2010 25-27 MAY 2010 JÖNKÖPING, SWEDEN WWW.WORLDBIOENERGY.COM Your contact in Canada: Scott Jamieson, E-mail: sjamieson@ annexweb.com, Phone: 519-429-5180 Mayor Moe Hamdon, left, and Dr. Manfred Kircher, chairman of the board of CLIB 2021, were on hand at the November 4, 2009, opening of CLIB 2021’s North American headquarters in Drayton Valley. 28 CanadianBIOMASS JANUARY/ FEBRUARY 2010 broke ground on a 30,000-square-foot biocomposites facility. With construc- tion of an off-grid interpretive centre ex- pected to begin in April 2010, the plant could be operational by October 2010. The company has received $4.4 million in federal funding administered through the Alberta government. Otoka Energy of Minnesota an- nounced in October that it would pro- ceed with a three-phase bioenergy devel- opment to produce power and biofuels for downstream processing. Mayor Hamdon sees the Bio-Mile as a boon to the environment and to ongoing research and development. He encourages other forest-based communities who are struggling to “take advantage of the evolu- tion of the forest industry and continue to be a vibrant community.” • -Colleen Cross Photo: Town of Drayton Valley
Canadian Biomass January/February 2010: Page 28
