Ensyn has broken ground on the first of its kind biorefinery in Quebec that will produce renewable fuel oil from forest residues. The Governments of Canada and Quebec will provide $76.5 million in funding to AE Côte-Nord Bioenergy for the Port Cartier project that when in full production, will convert forest residues into 40 million litres of renewable fuel oil per year. Production is anticipated to begin in 2017.

“We are pleased to initiate construction of the Côte-Nord project. Our RTP technology was born and developed in Canada, and we are proud to see that this important project, the first commercial facility designed and optimized for fuel production, will be established in Canada with the support of IFIT, SDTC and Investissement Québec,” said Dr. Robert Graham, chairman, Ensyn Corporation.

The project was kicked off at Port-Cartier by Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources, the Honourable Jim Carr, and Laurent Lessard, Quebec’s Minister of Forests, Wildlife and Parks. In March 2016, to ensure the fibre supply for the project, the Quebec Ministry of Forests, Wildlife and Parks reserved 170,000 green tonnes of residues from government forests for the plant.

The Government of Canada is supporting the project through a $27-million investment from Sustainable Development Technology Canada and $17.5 million from Natural Resources Canada’s Investments in Forest Industry Transformation program. In addition, the Government of Quebec is contributing $32 million to the project, including $10 million from Investissement Québec.

Jim Carr, Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources, said of the announcement, “Today’s announcement is an important step in advancing Canada’s bioeconomy. By increasing the commercial availability of renewable fuel oil, which can be used as a clean replacement for fossil fuels, this project will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and create jobs in the local economy. This investment demonstrates our leadership in supporting this strong example of clean-technology innovation.”