The goal of this research is to use the developed information around the technical, economical and social political challenges for the implementation of small-scale bioenergy systems in remote indigenous communities in Canada. The targeted outcome creates a multi faceted model to evaluate the success and impact of future installation with less input factors to simplify the technology transfer and lower the overall investment requirements for communities or stakeholders.

Moulded pulp, is a packaging material, made from recycled papers. It is used for protective packaging such as egg packaging, fruit trays and coffee cup carriers. For many applications moulded pulp is less expensive and environmentally friendly than plastics and styrofoams, however, due to their high water absorption and low strength, these products are limited to only few packaging products. Biobinder, a biobased binder, has been developed from University of Toronto to imparts water repellency and improves the strength of moulded pulp products.

Species-at-risk conservation is complex and multi-faceted. However, mitigation strategies are typically narrow in scope, an artefact of conservation research that is often limited to a single species or stressor. The ability to research an entire community of strongly interacting species would greatly enhance our ability to forge more comprehensive and effective conservation decisions. Seismic line restoration is a key management strategy for caribou conservation but little is known about the response of this restoration on boreal mammals generally, or caribou, specifically.

Cannabis sativa is a multipurpose crop, providing us with fibers, seeds and medicinal compounds. Its current economic importance will likely drastically increase following its legalization in Canada. However, despite its economic potential as well as its long history of use by humans, we know very little about the evolution of this plant.

Powdery mildew is a foliar fungal disease that attacks all Cannabis sativa varieties. The majority of license producers (LP) producers have witnessed evidence of this problem firsthand. Plant yields and ultimate profitability can be severely undermined by pathogen infections. This pathogen is challenging to deal with, and early detection of fungus and pests eliminate these crop losses and boost overall yields. The proposed research will apply novel molecular breeding approaches to obtain durable and broad –spectrum resistance to Powdery mildew.

The forest industry in British Columbia (BC) is facing increasingly difficult challenges regarding fibre supply. New winch-assist technology that enables fully mechanized ground-based forest harvesting on steep terrain has been increasingly used in BC since 2016. The new systems have improved safety and provide access to fibre that was previously uneconomic. New low-consumption small-size cable yarders have also received increasing interest in non-trafficable terrain.

Forage nutritive value is a key component of profitable dairy production with forage fiber concentration and digestibility being critical, as high quality forages can reduce requirements for high-cost concentrated feeds. One approach and new technology developed to increase forage quality has been the release of high digestibility/lowlignin alfalfa cultivars, as alfalfa is the main forage legume used in eastern Canada.

Research in Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence has been applied to image recognition. Weather modeling and prediction make use of distributed computing. Forestry research produces ground cover models and economic value predictions. These active research disciplines are all implicated in the emerging area of big data analytics as applied to the needs of the industrial partner: Tanka is advancing integrated analytics, bridging research in these fields to ingest maximally relevant data to produce valuable information for a variety of applications.

Wood composite panels such as particleboard and fiber board swell when they get wet and, as a result, they are only used to make products that are used indoors. However, a new type of (modified) fibreboard has been developed that doesn’t swell when it becomes wet, which opens up the possibility of using fibreboards outdoors for siding, furniture and cabinets. The market for such products is large, but end-user need to be fully convinced that the new fibreboard is highly moisture resistant.

Lignin represents the largest reservoir of natural aromatic compounds available on earth. It is a potential substitute for a range of chemicals currently derived from petroleum, but product development and identification of market opportunities remain challenging. The objective of the research is to utilize industrial softwood kraft lignins from the black liquor of British Columbia mills, process them into uniform lignin streams with known performance specifications by fractionation and chemical modification.