Ontario commits $1.2 million to industrial research at Lakehead
The money will pay for a new industrial research chair position and fire resistance testing laboratory
The Ontario government has announced more than 1.2 million dollars in industrial research funding for Lakehead University.
The province has committed $814,000 from the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation to create an industrial research chair position in green chemicals and processes.
It will spend another $473,000 to build a fire resistance testing laboratory, which will allow students to test building materials for fire resistance.
"This is going to be key to strengthening northern Ontario's competitive advantage," said Michael Gravelle, Minister of Northern Development and Mines and chair of the NOHFC.
The new industrial research chair is Pedram Fatehi, an associate professor in the department of chemical engineering whose work focuses on transforming pulp and paper industry waste into products that make mining more environmentally friendly.
Some of them could be ready within five years, he told CBC.
"We have some promising outcomes, and now we are talking about demonstration plans. We are talking about mill trials, so things are going well," he said.
The research chair position will be supported by 16 new jobs, while the lab facility will create two new jobs, according to a Ministry news release.