Biocap Canada to explore use of biomass as alternate energy source while helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions

The federal government has wrapped months of negotiations and released funding for a key research component of Canada’s efforts to comply with the Kyoto agreement on greenhouse gas (GHG) and carbon emissions. Biocap Canada has received $6 million over three years with the potential for a $4-million, two-year extension to establish four national research networks and associated research clusters (see box). The Queen’s Univ-based, not-for-profit organization is bringing together university, government and industry researchers to explore ways to utilize biomass as a source for energy, chemicals and materials while reducing harmful emissions.

The research will include ways in which biological processes can be employed to reduce carbon in the atmosphere and generate new energy sources, as well as exploiting Canada’s bountiful forests and open spaces to reduce overall carbon emissions. Funding is being provided by Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), Environment Canada (EC) and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) through a contribution agreement managed by EC.

Given the length of the protracted negotiations, the first year of the five-year funding arrangement is nearly over, meaning Biocap must spend the first $6 million within the next two years. Pending results of a mid-term review and approval of the additional $4 million, funding will run to 2006.

“It’s been a slow process but the funding is now in place,” says Dr David Layzell, who spearheaded the Biocap initiative and worked for more than a year to secure federal funding. “We’ve established a research focus for each group and there will be calls for proposals by the fall. We’ll be using our funding resources and coordination to bring together university researchers with other groups and the granting councils.”

The most advanced of the four research programs is Fluxnet-Canada. The $15-million initiative will measure the long-term fluxes of carbon, water and energy for mature and disturbed forests and wetlands, and evaluate the relationship between net ecosystem productivity and changes to the carbon stock.

Fluxnet is joining university researchers with their government counterparts at Environment Canada and NRCan’s Canadian Forestry Services. Biocap plans to contribute $60,000 to the initiative, with another $11.7 million being sought from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) and the Canadian Foundation for Climate and Atmospheric Sciences. A decision is expected within weeks. A recent attempt to secure an additional $3.2 million in funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation failed.

Biocap is also coordinating a funding proposal to the Network of Centres of Excellence (NCE) program for its upcoming competition. The lead university has yet to be selected, but a letter of intent is being prepared for submission and is connected to Biocap’s research program for Agriculture and Greenhouse Gases. This is Biocap’s second attempt to secure NCE funding, after an initial try in 1999 proved unsuccessful in a closely fought competition.

“(The NCE proposal) is still in the discussion stage but our intent is to work with federal and provincial agricultural departments and put together an integrated package for an NCE,” says Layzell, a Queen’s Univ plant scientist and executive research director of Biocap. “Our real overall goal is to go out, bring together and focus research through the NCE program, granting council funds, and provincial funds, providing a coordinated research effort. We’re excited about our leveraging capacity.”

With its national focus and emphasis on multi-sectoral research collaboration, Biocap Canada has many similarities to the proposed Federal Innovation Networks of Excellence (FINE) program (R$, November 28/01). It also closely matches the rationale behind the NSERC Innovation Platform (NIP) concept, for which it was an early contender (R$, January 29/01).

For the federal government, Biocap’s leveraging capabilities are not the primary reason for funding the organization. Negotiations stretched into months to hammering out a clear set of deliverables and and intellectual property agreement to ensure the benefits of Biocap’s research accrued to Canadians and met Ottawa’s policy and program objectives.

“The time it took to negotiate certainly added value to the partnerships. They have a much better idea of what they want to do than they did one year ago. The conception of deliverables changed during the negotiations,” says Dr Irwin Itzkovitch, assistant DM for NRCan’s Earth Sciences Sector. “We’re also happy to see how Biocap has been able to bring additional provinces and industry players into the game.”

The forestry industry is interested in participating in Fluxnet-Canada and the Afforestation and Agroforestry research network. Biocap will fund the latter in the initial stages and bring together industry players with federal researchers. The network encourages the planting of trees on underutilized agricultural land and land where forests once stood with the aim of increasing Canada’s carbon sinks for GHG.

Forestry and energy firms will also participate in the Bio Based Products research network, that will explore the use of agricultural waste for the production of various energy compounds. “We want to create a national research community to move to a bio-based economy, producing new energy streams to meet the needs of society,” says Layzell. “Canada has an incredible opportunity here. Canada has a vast land area that can address and meet energy, chemical and material needs.”.

BIOCAP CAPTURES MAJOR INDUSTRY BACKING

The concept for Biocap arose shortly after the signing of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. A group of researchers met to discuss the need for research into carbon sinks, by using Canada’s forests and agricultural lands to reduce GHG and to capitalize on Canada’s so-called Green Advantage.

The concept was pitched to Canadian energy, electricity and steel producers, with many companies coming on board as members of the Biocap Canada Foundation.

In addition to Layzell, key individuals behind the Biocap lobbying campaign and associated negotiations include Bob Page, VP Sustainable Development with Trans-Alta Corp, chair of Biocap’s board of directors and an executive committee member.

Other prime drivers are Holly Mitchell, executive managing director of the Biocap Canada Foundation, NRCan’s Irwin Itzkovitch and Marc-Denis Everell, assistant DM and John Stone, associate DG, both of EC’s Meteorological Service of Canada.

R$