Tidal power and solid-state lighting win funding

Sustainable Development Technology Canada, an arm of the Government of Canada that was established to support clean technologies, has announced that its next round of funding will include technologies that address water and soil quality issues for the first time. Until now, the foundation has been funding new technologies that address climate change and clean air. Their next request for Statements of Interest is called for August 24.
In the last round of funding announcements made on July 5, the foundation announced an investment of $43.4 milllion in 15 new technologies.
Among them was a project involving AMEC Americas and AMEC Dynamic Structures Limited to demonstrate Canada’s first free-stream tidal power project. The Pearson College EnCana Clean Current Tidal Power project at Race Rocks will see a 65kW turbine generator installed at an ecological reserve 10 nautical miles southwest of Victoria, B.C. It will enable the marine park to replace two diesel generator.
Among the other technologies to receive funding in July was Group IV Semiconductor of Ottawa to develop a solid-state light bulb that will make it suitable in terms of performance and price for the mass market.
There were several projects in the pulp and paper industry. A grant went to Prairie Pulp and Paper to explore producing high quality paper from 100 per cent agricultural materials. Paprican, the Pulp and Paper Reserach Institute of Canada, and Tembec Industries received a grant to a closed-loop kraft pulp mill at Skookumchuck, B.C. The project will demonstrate chemical recycling and increased use of biomass as a fuel.
Another interesting new technology that received funding for further development was Sunarc of Canada’s on-demand insulation systems for transparent structures such as greenhouses. The Montreal company has developed a foam that is inserted automatically when required between two layers of translucent plastic film. The foam increases insulation by tenfold or more (R15-20) and then as it collapses and returns to a liquid state it can be recovered and reused.
See www.sdtc.ca