Energy giant Emera and several government agencies are injecting $1.67 million into finding new uses for Nova Scotia’s forests.
Emera is investing $1 million while Nova Scotia is investing $417,000 and the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency is giving $250,000.
The money is for the Forestry Innovation Hub, which launched last year through Innovacorp and is mandated to connect Nova Scotia’s forestry industry to innovative new uses for wood and wood byproducts. The goal is to diversify the forestry industry away from traditional pulp and paper mills.
“Over the last number of years its become painfully apparent that we need to reinvent ourselves when it comes to forest utilization in Nova Scotia,” Natural Resources Minister Lloyd Hines said.
“We need to start somewhere and we’ve got to get very serious about how that works.”
Products already exist that use wood and wood byproduct to make replacements for plastics and cement, said Bioapplied consultant Rod Badcock. They’re considered more environmentally friendly because the products are biodegradable.
The hub will work as a place to connect Nova Scotia’s industry to companies that have already designed products that could be sourced, at lease in part, from Nova Scotia.
Any intellectual property developed by the hub will be industry-owned said Emera President and CEO Chris Huskilson.