Backgrounder

August 14, 2007

ONTARIO BIOINDUSTRIAL INNOVATION CENTRE

The Ontario Bioindustrial Innovation Centre will occupy new and renovated office, laboratory and pilot plant space at the University of Western Ontario’s Sarnia-Lambton Research Park. 

With an investment of $10 million from the Government of Ontario, the centre will leverage over $15 million in funds from other partners to complete construction over the next two years. The project includes building 60,000 sq. ft. of new “green building” space, and the renovation of a 60,000 sq. ft. research facility formerly occupied by Dow Chemical Canada.

The investment will help spur a more globally competitive industry by integrating the renewable bio-based industry into the traditional petrochemical industry. The centre will act as a catalyst to help attract new bioindustrial plants to Sarnia and support up to 1,000 jobs in research and engineering. 

The centre will capitalize on Sarnia-Lambton’s strong regional position to take advantage of rapidly expanding markets in the bioeconomy. The region enjoys three critical advantages it can use as markets emerge:

• Access to raw materials
  Centrally located in the North American market for corn and soybeans markets, Sarnia-Lambton also has access to ocean going vessels for delivery of biomass, fuels and chemicals.
• Low-cost production processes
  The region’s vast experience in the petrochemical sector gives it the technical know-how, a developed industrial infrastructure and the access to capital vital to low cost production.
• High value-added products and markets
  The region’s producers currently supply chemicals and polymers to the plastics, manufacturing and automotive industries, which produce higher value-added products.

The new facilities will also benefit many of the more than 100 projects currently underway with industry and academia at the research park. The park will offer new programs to tenants and clients, including those focused on mentorship, investor readiness, peer-to-peer groups and shared equipment.

As prime tenant for 50 per cent of the total new and renovated space, Colt Engineering, a leading petrochemical engineering company in Canada, will use the new space to double its Sarnia engineering capacity to 600 or more employees. The centre will support Colt Engineering in recruiting and retaining top engineering talent, for current and future projects.

Other research partners include the University of Western Ontario, Lambton College and the Advanced Design and Manufacturing Institute, which includes the University of Toronto, Queen’s, Waterloo, McMaster and Western.