Investments in Forest Industry Transformation Program (Voted)

The objective of the Investments in Forest Industry Transformation (IFIT) program is to support transformations that will make the forest industry more economically viable and environmentally sustainable. The objective will be achieved by investing in innovative technologies that lead to a more diverse, higher-value product mix including bioenergy and renewable power, as well as biomaterials, biochemical and next generation building products.
The Program will fund innovative projects that are using transformative technologies as the pilot and commercial scales that direct wood fibre and by-products from wood processing into higher value usages, which 1) increase the total revenues available from a log, 2) diversify product lines for the forest industry, stabilizing economic performance, and 3) produce renewable energy and other products that are beneficial to the environment. By providing funding to Canadian forest firms for capital investments in bioenergy and bioproduct industrial processes to advance these technologies towards full, commercial-scale implementation, this Program will broaden and build upon previous investments in forest sector transformation.
This transfer payment program does not have any repayable contributions.

Over the past year, five projects were completed at facilities in Canada that represent first-in-kind innovations in advanced building products, new bio-chemicals, and renewable energy. These include:

• the first mill in North America to produce dissolving pulp from birch wood;
• the first company in North America to design and install a system to clean forest residues, making a viable feedstock for their pellet plant;
• the first of its kind in North America to produce wood fibre to be used in the production of wood-plastic composites;
• the world’s first commercial facility using technology designed specifically for the conversion of forest residues to liquid biocrude for energy applications; and
• the first company in North America to develop and automate production of dowel-laminated timber for green construction projects.

The Program also launched its fourth call for proposals, which attracted close to 60 proposals and more than $350 million in requests for funding. The Program is now working with a new cohort of potential applicants to help bring new innovations to the forest products sector.

Completed: 2013-14 (as part of sub-program 1.2.2 – Forest Sector Innovation)

Planned: 2017-18 (The program is currently being evaluated with a report on results expected by winter 2019).