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Feds to invest $1.2M in pulp-based composite for automotive applications

The federal government is investing $1.2 million to scale up production of a new lightweight wood fibre–based composite material to create automotive parts.

GreenNano Technologies, a Toronto-based company, has developed a method to combine wood pulp with polymers to create a special strong and lightweight thermoplastic.

The material, if successfully applied in the automotive sector, could have a number of consumer and commercial applications, including in aerospace parts, pharmaceuticals, solar panels and cosmetics.

“Using forest products in the automotive sector is a great example of the high-tech future of forestry,” says Seamus O’Regan, minister of natural resources, in a statement.

GreenNano is also collaborating with Ford Canada’s Power Engineering Research and Development Centre, located in Windsor, Ontario, to test the new material in the production of lightweight car parts.

Funding for this project is provided through the Investments in Forest Industry Transformation program, which encourages the Canadian forest sector to adopt and implement unique technologies and processes to diversify into new product streams and into emerging markets.