Trees are a plentiful, renewable natural resource that can be manufactured into many different things, and we are constantly in search of new ways to use them! Resolute and FPInnovations, a not-for-profit organization specializing in scientific solutions to support the competitiveness of Canada’s forest products sector, joined forces in 2018 to do just that, and on May 27th, we proudly inaugurated our new TMP-Bio plant together in Thunder Bay (Ontario). The plant uses a patented technology to transform wood-based chemicals, such as lignin and cellulosic sugars, into innovative commercial products like adhesives, animal feed and composites.
The C$23 million plant, located at Resolute’s Thunder Bay pulp and paper mill, has the capacity to treat 100 metric tons of biomass each year. It was commissioned as part of an initiative to renew and transform the forest products industry, building on investments by Resolute, the Ontario Centre for Research and Innovation in the Bio-Economy (CRIBE), and Natural Resources Canada.
The project has the support of the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation, FedNor, the Thunder Bay Community Economic Development Commission and the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, in addition to contributions in research and applications from the Québec Ministry of Forests, Wildlife and Parks and the Nova Scotia Innovation Hub.
The inauguration was attended by Don Rusnak, Member of Parliament, Thunder Bay – Rainy River; Ross Romano, Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Energy, Northern Development and Mines of Ontario; Bill Mauro, Mayor of Thunder Bay; Remi Lalonde, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Resolute; Stéphane Renou, President and Chief Executive Officer of FPInnovations; Derek Nighbor, President and CEO of Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC); and many representatives of the Canadian forest products industry. Attendees praised the project.
For more information, please read the press release.
