First it sends a clear signal to our cleantech (and business) community that the City of Ottawa is willing to back our local cleantech companies as they develop solutions that reduce or eliminate the negative ecological impacts of personal or commercial activities.

Secondly, it solidifies the Ottawa region’s growing reputation as a centre of expertise for the conversion of waste and residual materials to energy and co-products. Ottawa’s own Iogen Energy is responsible for a ‘world’s first’ as Ottawa residents were the first to fill their tanks with gasoline containing an advanced cellulosic biofuel made from wheat straw (an agriculture residue) from a farm right here in the Ottawa region. Incredibly successful but little known (to many in the Ottawa region) Ensyn Technologies converts forestry and other residual biomass to renewable pyrolysis oil including at the Crane Massachusetts facility that produces the paper used for US Currency and at what will be the world’s largest fast pyrolysis plant (producing 20 million gallons of renewable pyrolysis oil) in High Level Alberta.

Third, public-private partnerships like this enable our region’s cleantech ecosystem to participate in a global cleantech market that will be worth $3 trillion by 2020. Regardless of the ‘flavour of the day’ in climate change and other politics the underlying drivers that require more resource efficient and less environmentally impactful solutions such as a global population of 7 billion people faced with ever increasing resource shortages means that this sector is here to stay and our current and future economic and environmental prosperity in the Ottawa region will increasingly depend on the success of our cleantech companies.

I had the opportunity to witness policy development in action at the recent Medical Devices Summit co-organized by OCRI and the Medical Devices Innovation Institute.

Representatives from across the medical devices sector had gathered at the Summit on October 13-14 to assemble recommendations and strategies to achieve this sector’s potential for growth. The speakers, moderators, and audience included representatives from funding agencies, research institutes, venture capital, local and multinational companies, universities, and technical colleges. From among this variety of perspectives, the session moderators facilitated a balanced dialogue resulting in eight key recommendations supported by action steps. Topics included encouraging research investment, enhancing the education of young researchers and technology transfer professionals, identifying barriers to commercialization, and improving access to global & domestic markets.
The final report arising from the Summit promises to be a valuable resource for policymakers at all levels who seek to understand the many factors that are necessary to support innovation.

So how is it possible to take this discussion further? What’s going on in other sectors? How might strategies for strengthening the medical devices sector fit into a national science & technology strategy for Canada?

Opportunities for this type of dialogue are becoming more numerous, especially in Ottawa.

Just around the corner on November 18, the Chemical Institute of Canada is hosting a panel entitled “Drivers of Innovation in the Chemical-Related Industry Sector”. Representatives from the Ontario BioAuto Council, the Forest Products Association of Canada, DuPont Canada, and the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers will give their perspectives on the strengths and weaknesses of national and provincial policies that attract or hinder research investments in Canada’s largest chemical-related trade sectors.
Genome Canada’s GPS Series: Where Genomics, Public Policy, and Science Meet, facilitates dialogue on policy issues arising at the interface of genomics and its ethical, enviromental, legal, and social aspects. It includes a November 17 panel, open to the public, on “Genomics and Regulatory Science” which explores the evaluation of scientific and technological applications resulting from advances in genomics, and where the audience will be invited to participate in a plenary discussion to refine the policy brief.

The Canadian Cleantech Summit, which just took place on Oct 27 & 28, was another such forum, including three days of policy discussion relevant to environmentally friendly technologies.

These are just a few examples of how and where to learn about the current state of science & technology policy in Canada, and participate in discussions that help to shape it.

The Chemical Institute of Canada and Genome Canada events are both part of the Canadian Science Policy Conference, Nov 16-18 in the Ottawa Convention Centre. Conference highlights also include a special keynote address by Hon. Gary Goodyear, Minister of State (Science and Technology) as well as presentations by chief scientists, a university president, three MPs, and two provincial legislators. OCRI members are eligible for a special discount on General registrations with promo code OCRI2011. For more information and to register, visit www.cspc2011.ca

An Thien Ngo, Ph.D. is the Ottawa outreach coordinator for the Canadian Science Policy Conference. The opinions expressed here are entirely her own. Contact her at an.ngo@sciencepolicy.ca

Building on the momentum generated by the inaugural Canadian Cleantech Summit, this year’s summit (October 27-28 at the Ottawa Convention Centre) brings together leading entrepreneurs, executives, investors, international trade representatives, corporate partners and policy makers to generate discussion to help determine the future direction for Canada’s globally competitive stance on clean technology.

Keynote speakers include: Dr. David Keith, Canada Research Chair in Energy and the Environment; Chuck Szmurlo, Vice President, Emerging Technologies, Enbridge Gas; Don Roberts, Vice-Chairman of CIBC Wholesale Banking, and Managing Director Clean Technology and Renewable Energy Sectors; Marc Stoiber, Brand Innovation and Sustainability Specialist; Nicholas Parker, Executive Chairman, Cleantech Group, Chairman of the Board, WaterTAP; Chris Weston, President and CEO, Direct Energy; and Dr. Ian Potter, Vice-President, Engineering, National Research Council Canada.

Panel discussions will focus on emerging technologies and research, markets, financing and funding and policy and will tackle topics in oil, gas and mining, transportation, waste to energy, China, market entry, strategic procurement, short and long-term funding trends, and provincial programs to support the sector.

Given the huge potential for this sector and the amazing opportunity that this summit represents to initiate real dialogue to move forward, the summit is a must attend. Visit canadiancleantechsummit.com for full details.

This decision was not taken lightly but was influenced by several mitigating factors. The May 2nd federal election has certainly had a negative impact on the participation of both speakers and attendees.

We believe that the summit is a key forum for a national discussion on this strategic sector and we remain committed to hosting this discussion at a later date. The organizing committee is currently exploring options for the Fall of 2011.

We are sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused but trust that you understand that we could not, in good faith, proceed with an event that would not meet its objectives.

Much like the Canadian Cleantech Summit it took the hard work of dedicated sector experts from all across Canada to become a reality and I am personally thrilled to have been involved in such an important project in support of the Canadian cleantech sector! Canada has great assets in cleantech including over 400 clean technology companies, globally recognised engineering and project management expertise, unique policies and agencies that support research, commercialization and deployment and an abundance of natural resources that position Canada well for demonstration and deployment. It is my personal hope that through sharing of information and raising the profile of the sector these and other assets can be linked together to deliver economic and environmental benefits globally.

Copies of Impact Magazine will be distributed across Canada this week and is published in both official languages. I hope that you enjoy this inaugural issue and look forward to your comments and feedback. If you have not received a copy by mid-April and would like to receive one please contact me via email at mmcarthur@ocri.ca

In order to explore the applications of ICT in the cleantech sector, global trends, growth opportunities and the relationship to capabilities in the Ottawa region in order to leverage our resources towards new, profitable ventures, OCRI is launching a new monthly event series. The series begins on February 28 with Nick Parker, Chairman of Cleantech Group LLC and Parker Venture Management Inc., on hand to outline the world of opportunity that lies in the convergence of ICT and Cleantech. Full details are available here http://ocri.ca/events/ict-cleantech-upcoming

Join us in this effort to prepare the region’s talent and infrastructure to take advantage of these growing opportunities.

Currently, archives include media clips and entire presentations from our events to give you a full picture of what you’ve missed but going forward we’re just going to let you in on the Q&A. If you want more you’ll have to come check out an event to reap all the benefits of the presentation and networking.

Cheers!

OCRI’s China strategy for Ottawa reached a new milestone in June. Two major objectives set for 2010 were to increase the number of invited delegations from China to Ottawa and to move from relationship building to a focus on deal generation. June saw those objectives reached.

A key tactic was having Ottawa Mayor Larry O’Brien lead nine Ottawa-area companies to Beijing and three other Chinese cities in April. The benefits from that mission have been almost immediate. From late May to early July, Ottawa welcomed 7 separate delegations from China. June was an unofficial “China Month” in Ottawa!
 
• May 27: Suzhou Industrial Park of China Visited UBM Techinsights in Ottawa
• June 8, 2010: Vice Governor of Guangdong Provincial Government Visited Ottawa
• June 14, 2010: Ottawa Tourism and Greatwall of China Signing Friendship Agreement
• June 16, 2010: Z-Park of Beijing, China visited Ottawa
• June 23, 2010: CECEP visit to Plasco and Ottawa
• June 24, 2010: Canada China Business Forum(CCBF) took place in Ottawa
• July 5, 2010: Beijing Investment Promotion Bureau Visited Ottawa

For full details from each day (plus the complete Ottawa Fact Sheet for Q2) please visit http://ottawaregion.com/About_Ottawa/Ottawa_Facts/index.php.

Since the start of the Canada’s Top 10™ Competition, winners from across ICT, Life Science and Cleantech have raised more than $600 Million in investment to really take their companies to the next level and become global players. Have a look at some past winners like Bel Air Networks, I Love Rewards, Variation Bioscience, Bioniche, and Paradigm Technologies or Menova Energy and you’ll know what I mean. These companies all had similar traits that made them catch the eye of investors, strategic partners, and customers – the Competition, its partners and sponsors, and its jury members including angels, venture capital and private equity investors from around the world, was just the catalyst to help get them in front of the right people at the right time.

What do winners receive for this prestigious honour of being named a winner? I’ve already mentioned that winners are chosen by investors that may have a direct interest in digging deeper into the companies they chose. Even more important than that however are the targeted road shows and events that winners will have a chance to participate in. In addition to a one day dedicated coaching session with partners and sponsors to get them ready to raise capital, other events where we will showcase the Canada’s Top 10™ winners of 2010 will include the Banff Venture Forum, the National Angel Capital Organization Summit, and a host of targeted investment and partnering events in Silicon Valley, Boston, New York, Washington and locations in Europe. All for winners and alumni of the Canada’s Top 10™.

So what are we looking for in this year’s competition? First of all, applicants need to be raising funds in the next 12 months of $1M or more and must fall in to the broad categories of ICT, Life Sciences and Clean Technology. Technologies should be validated and there should be a defined market opportunity and path to market. A sales plan and a strong management team round out the high level categories. Keep in mind that an independent jury of investors makes the final decision based on their collective agreement on investing in an applicant. Think syndication in its simplest form with investors at least agreeing on the best investments.

I am looking forward to the road ahead and to seeing all of the applicants over the next two months. The competition is open now and will remain open until August 20, 2010. Winners will be announced in early September. You can find more information at www.topcanadiancompanies.com .

See you on the road.

First on June 3^rd Iogen Corporation and Royal Dutch Shell announced a further investment into Iogen Energy to fund research and development activities at Iogen Energy until mid-2012. This investment is intended to accelerate the commercial deployment of Iogen Energy’s process for making cellulosic ethanol from agricultural residue. Specifically, funds will be used to develop Iogen Energy’s next two technology releases that are designed to significantly reduce the capital and operating costs per gallon of ethanol produced at their Ottawa demonstration plant. To date this plant has produced almost 650,000 litres of cellulosic ethanol, some of which was used to power Ferrari’s Formula One race cars in the Grand Prix of Bahrain earlier this year. In case you were wondering whether cellulosic ethanol is up to scratch, the Ferrari cars placed first and second in that race…http://formulaone.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/14/a-ferrari-1-2-victory-in-bahrain/

On June 7^th Ensyn and Tolko Industries Ltd. announced a partnership to build the world’s largest, commercial fast pyrolysis plant in High Level, Alberta. Ottawa-based Ensyn is a global leader in fast pyrolysis, a thermo-chemical process that converts biomass (forestry and agricultural residue in this case) to pyrolysis oil through the rapid heating and cooling of the biomass in the near absence of oxygen. Tolko Industries Ltd. is a private, Canadian-owned forest products company. In Ensyn’s Rapid Thermal Processing – RTP™ process the solid biomass is converted directly to a gas and condensed to a liquid (pyrolysis oil) in less than two seconds. Pyrolysis oil then becomes a ‘bio-crude’ out of which valuable chemicals and fuels can be extracted. Ensyn already has a joint venture with UOP Honeywell, a global leader in oil refining, to convert pyrolysis oil into transportation fuels. The plant in High Level will be capable of processing 400 bone dry tonnes of biomass per day into 85,000,000 litres of pyrolysis oil annually.

World-class results from a world-class cleantech ecosystem.