Ontario Construction News staff writer
The National Research Council of Canada (NRC) hosted a virtual ceremony last week to officially open a new advanced materials research facility last week. The facility will serve as a national clean energy hub, supporting and undertaking foundational research of new materials for clean energy and other applications and transitioning them to industrial use. The facility will bring companies, government, and universities together to collaborate on breakthrough projects in clean technologies and advanced materials.
“The Government of Canada is committed to supporting innovative partnerships that will cement Canada as a world innovation leader,” said Navdeep Bains, minister of innovation, science, and industry.
“This facility will enable the kinds of collaborations and research that will help accelerate advancements and commercialization in the areas of clean energy and smart materials, ensuring continued long-term Canadian strength in this globally disruptive technology area.”
The facility will be part of the Canadian Campus for Advanced Materials Manufacturing (CCAMM), a joint initiative between the NRC and the Xerox Research Centre of Canada (XRCC). This initiative will establish a suite of accessible platform technologies for substantially accelerating the rate of discovery of new materials for a range of applications, including clean energy and additive manufacturing.
As part of the ceremony, the NRC announced the Materials for Clean Fuels Challenge program will be housed at the research facility. This 7-year, $57 million collaborative research program focusses on the development of new materials to be used in the production of clean and sustainable energy.
“The opening of our new facility in Mississauga represents a major stepping stone for the National Research Council of Canada in advancing Canada’s clean energy agenda,’ said Roger Scott-Douglas, acting president, NRC.
“We look forward to working with our partners in accelerating the development of advanced materials technologies and their commercialization into disruptive products for industry.”
The advanced materials research facility consists of 21,500 square feet of laboratories, office space and meeting rooms on its first floor with a shelled-in second floor, ready to be outfitted. The 2-floor building will be expanded as part of Phase 2. A third floor will be added to accommodate collaborative work with other government departments and is anticipated to be completed in mid-2022.
Together with the National Research Council of Canada, Xerox is proud to be a co-founder of the Canadian Campus for Advanced Materials Manufacturing, a high-tech campus designed to accelerate the development and commercialization of advanced materials technologies for clean tech and advanced manufacturing.
“The University of Toronto looks forward to collaborating with the NRC to accelerate the work of U of T’s researchers and training students to achieve new discoveries and apply them to further reduce the environmental impact of the electricity that powers the businesses, homes and vehicles of Canadians and people around the world,” said Derek Newton, assistant vice-president, innovation, partnerships and entrepreneurship.
The facility will house the operations and core R&D activities of the NRC’s Materials for Clean Fuels Challenge program, which is collaborating with leaders in academia and industry to catalyze the discovery and development of materials for early-stage exploratory technologies to decarbonize Canada’s oil and gas and petrochemical sectors.
When research operations begin in mid-2021, the facility initially will host a team of about 15 researchers and support staff, with space for about 20 additional guest and visiting workers at any one time. The fully completed facility will house roughly 100 researchers and support staff from the NRC, and a broad range of collaborators and partners from academia, other government departments and industry, from Canada and around the world.