The Canadian government on Aug. 3 awarded $1.8 million under Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s AgriAssurance Program to Bioindustrial Innovation Canada, a nonprofit group based in Ontario that supports the commercialization of sustainable technologies.

With the investment, BIC will work with Biomass Quality Network Canada to develop research-based standards for measuring and assessing the quality of bioproducts made from agricultural sources. The initiative aims to help producers better understand the quality standards needed to market raw materials to processors, and in turn, equip processors with more information and educational tools to assure their customers that bioproducts can replace traditional materials in terms of quality and performance.

“A vibrant, maturing Canadian bioproducts industry has incredible potential to be a world leader when supports are in place from a reliable, robust, consistent supply of biomass and, through the support of AAFC, the Biomass Quality Network Canada (BQNC) is being established to make this a reality,” said A.J. (Sandy) Marshall, executive director of BIC. “Accelerating the adoption of Canadian agricultural biomass through the development of standards, methods and guidelines has been the focus of BQNC, alongside the provision of value-added services, and management and monitoring of a certification system.”