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3.1 Sustainability-Driven Technologies and Commercialization (con't)
Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology Awareness and Education
Canada is a leader in the global hydrogen and fuel cell technology sector. In order to maintain this leadership, Canada must keep pace with global trends and continue to innovate. There are many environmental and economic opportunities in the full-scale commercialization of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies. Knowledge of these opportunities will be critical for deploying hydrogen and fuel cells into the marketplace, and for developing the skilled workforce that will sustain the future of the hydrogen and fuel cell technology industry in Canada. More needs to be done to raise awareness of the economic, environmental and social benefits of this technology and the role it can play in global energy systems.
As an advocate for hydrogen and fuel cell technology, Industry Canada will support education and awareness raising initiatives related to hydrogen and fuel cell technologies. These activities are important because they are critical to demonstrating fuel cell technology, developing codes and standards, deploying the technology and eventually commercializing applications. The Department will work with stakeholders to ensure that knowledge is effectively communicated to target audiences to help accelerate commercialization.
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Industry Canada will enhance Canada's online presence related to information on hydrogen and fuel cell technology, and will participate in selected forums to increase awareness and educate target audiences. Responsibility: Resource Processing Industries Branch |
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Expected Three-Year Results
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Performance Indicators
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Biorefineries
Biorefining is an emerging concept in which biomass from forests and agricultural crops is viewed as a renewable natural resource to be refined into its constituent parts. It is then transformed into a variety of products, including traditional fibre products such as paper; new products such as fuels, chemicals and materials; and fibre-reinforced moulded products for applications such as construction materials and automotive panels. These products include chemical building blocks or intermediates, high-value-added specialty chemicals, and specialty cellulose for use in the manufacture of cellulose crystals for telecommunications and nano-manufacturing. Biorefining is receiving increasing interest in Canada from decision makers in federal and provincial governments, traditional industry sectors (pulp and paper, chemicals and energy), the research community in universities, the Pulp and Paper Research Institute of Canada, and other research establishments such as the Alberta Research Council.
The Canadian pulp and paper industry has always been and remains a key contributor to Canada's economy. In recent years, however, several factors have created a challenging economic environment for the Canadian pulp and paper industry, including competition from low-cost producing nations and the high value of the Canadian dollar. To remain internationally competitive, Canada needs to create biorefineries by converting a large segment of the Canadian market to kraft pulping production. The undertaking will require the allocation of substantial human, structural and financial resources at each step.
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Industry Canada will work with partners in federal and provincial governments, research organizations, professional societies, industry associations and companies to foster the development of the forest biorefinery concept Responsibility: Life Sciences Branch and Resource Processing Industries Branch |
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Expected Three-Year Results
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Performance Indicators
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Green Procurement: Energy and Environmental Technologies
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"To balance energy supply and demand, we must continue to
push the boundaries of innovation and technology. Often, this means we
must look far into the future." --Stepping Forward Through Innovation and Technology |
Green procurement presents an important opportunity to achieve key federal objectives such as economic and industrial development, commercialization, and technology diffusion and adoption. The federal government's Green Procurement Policy came into effect on April 1, 2006. The policy aims to advance the protection of the environment and support sustainable development by incorporating environmental performance considerations into government purchasing decisions. Key priorities for Industry Canada are to foster SMEs in Canada's environment industry and to position them to take advantage of the economic development opportunities presented by the Green Procurement Policy.
Action Plan Item
Supports Federal Sustainable Development Environmental Quality Goal: Reduce
Greenhouse Gas Emissions
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Industry Canada will work in partnership with other federal departments to advance the development and adoption of environmental and energy technologies to strengthen Canada's industrial base. The Department will also satisfy government economic, environmental and social objectives, and work to raise awareness by industry of federal procurement opportunities. Responsibility: Service Industries and Consumer Products Branch |
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Expected Three-Year Result
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Performance Indicators
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Industry Canada supports the Green Procurement Policy and is actively involved in the Interdepartmental Steering Group on Green Procurement, established to consider government-wide priorities for green procurement. The Department supports the use of federal purchasing power to support the development of Canadian environmental technologies. It can contribute to the growth of the Canadian industry, and position Canada as a leader in advancing and adopting clean technologies. It can also provide the market stimulus necessary for wider market deployment and increase supplier competitiveness.
Council of Canadian Academies
The Council of Canadian Academies (CCS) is an arm's-length, not-for-profit organization that was established to assess the state of scientific knowledge underpinning key public policy issues. Its founding members are the Royal Society of Canada, the Canadian Academy of Engineering and the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences. The Government of Canada provided a $30-million, one-time conditional grant in July 2005, which entitles the government to five assessments per year over 10 years. Each assessment will likely take 18 months to two years to complete.
The assessments undertaken for the federal government will normally not contain specific policy recommendations. Rather, they will report on the relevant science, identifying what is known (or at least strongly believed) and where there are gaps in our knowledge. Such findings will be relevant for policy decisions in cases where scientific factors play a significant role.
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Industry Canada will solicit assessment topics of importance to the government's forward policy agenda from science-based departments and agencies. This request for proposals will be initiated biannually in conjunction with the Council of Canadian Academies Responsibility: Science and Innovation Sector |
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Expected Three-Year Result
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Performance Indicator
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Technology Partnerships Canada: Sustainable Development Benefits Reporting
Technology Partnerships Canada (TPC) is a special operating agency of Industry Canada that provides funding support for strategic R&D that produces economic, environmental and social benefits for Canadians. For a decade, it has been helping Canadian companies perform R&D to take new technologies closer to the marketplace, including environmental, aerospace and defence, and enabling technologies. These R&D projects have the potential to improve the efficiency of production processes in traditional sectors, as well as support emerging technologies.
Since September 2005, TPC has been closed to new applications in the areas of environmental and enabling technologies. This part of the program was established to contribute to the development of Canadian environmental technologies, including energy, water and non-renewable resource conservation technologies; clean production technologies; and restoration technologies. All existing contracted TPC projects will continue.
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Industry Canada, through TPC, will enhance sustainable development benefits reporting by including an applicant's contribution to the economic pillar of sustainable development in its program eligibility criteria and reporting obligations. It will also encourage and report any contributions to the environmental dimension of sustainable development. Responsibility: Technology Partnerships Canada |
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Expected Three-Year Result
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Performance Indicators
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Federal Greenhouse Gas Emission Memorandum of Understanding with the Canadian Automotive Industry
In April 2005, the federal government successfully negotiated a voluntary Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the automobile industry to reduce GHG emissions. The Canadian automobile industry agreed to offer and promote a wide variety of fuel-saving vehicle technologies to reduce GHG emissions by 5.3 megatonnes (Mt) annually by 2010. A key part of this agreement is the establishment of a joint government-industry committee (known as the Joint GHG MOU Committee) to track and report on progress to the target. The committee consists of eight members, with four representatives each from government and industry. Its work is primarily technical in nature. Information on the work of the committee, including progress updates and reports, will be available to the public as it is released.
The federal government retains the option to utilize its legislative and regulatory instruments, as necessary, to ensure that the MOU's objectives are achieved. Industry Canada was an original member of the federal steering committee that negotiated the MOU.
Action Plan Item
Supports Federal Sustainable Development Environmental Quality Goal: Reduce
Greenhouse Gas Emissions
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Industry Canada will develop frameworks and methodologies for tracking the progress of the Canadian automobile industry MOU to reduce GHG emissions. Responsibility: Automotive and Transportation Industries Branch |
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Expected Three-Year Results
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Performance Indicator
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