icfar.ca

The Institute for Chemicals and Fuels from Alternative Resources, ICFAR (pron. I See Far), is a research institute within the Faculty of Engineering at The University of Western Ontario. ICFAR was established in January 2008. In March of 2008, Ontario invested $5 million to support the design, construction and initial start-up operation of ICFAR’s new 20,000-square-foot research centre, located just a few minutes north of the City of London. Construction was completed in late June of 2009, and the mammoth task of relocating the massive research equipment began. On October 16, 2009, ICFAR was host to a Grand Opening celebration, with government, university and industry officials in attendance.

As its name suggests, the aim of ICFAR is to be a leader in the development of technologies and processes for the production of chemicals and fuels from alternative resources, with an emphasis in green engineering and environmental sustainability, an identified “signature area” of research in Western’s Strategic Research Plan. The goal is to quickly move research from the lab benches to large demonstration projects at ICFAR, paving the way for Ontario bio-fuel and chemical innovations to get to the global marketplace – fast.

Two faculty members from Chemical and Biochemical Engineering at Western. Drs. Franco Berruti and Cedric Briens, are the co-founders of ICFAR, and have offices on-site. As a team, they have raised significant research and contract funding for the important ICFAR activities, bringing researchers from across Canada and the world together to enhance and accelerate productivity, bringing results to market. One significant national project led through ICFAR is the $8.7 million Agricultural Biorefinery Innovation Network (ABIN), funded through Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Agricultural Bioproduct Innovation Program. Supported totally from external (non-operating) funds, ICFAR already accommodates 19 Masters and Ph.D. students, 4 undergraduate students and 4 postdoctoral fellows. There are 3 full-time administrative personnel on-site, 1 contracted technical employee and a part-time IT consultant. The institute is expected to house two new energy-related research chairs and provides workspace for visiting scientists and students from Canada and abroad.

Among other activities listed on our website, the Institute houses facilities to test next generation bio-fuel technologies being developed by Western researchers. Using a process called pyrolysis, agricultural, forestry and food residues, such as corn stover and cobs, wood branches, bark, grasses and so on, produce a bio-oil which can be further refined to make insecticides, pesticides, pharmaceuticals and engine fuels (as examples), a solid called bio-char which is recognized for its ability to act as an effective fertilizer while reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and heat (gas) which is used to provide the energy to enable the pyrolysis.

Technology transfer and commercialization initiatives are of primary importance to ICFAR. As an example, Agri-Therm Inc., is an ICFAR spin-off company that is in the early stages of bringing new bio-fuel technology to market. Agri-Therm makes a patented, mobile pyrolysis unit, and has begun to market its technology. Agri-Therm has just completed its first sale, to the University of Veracruz in Mexico.

Locally, the institute has established ties with the Sarnia-Lambton Bioindustrial Innovation Centre to create additional business opportunities. Ontario committed $10 million to the creation of the Bioindustrial Innovation Centre in 2007, to develop environmentally friendly alternates to fossil fuels. The Sarnia centre, acting in partnership with others in the community, is expected to attract over $1 billion in private sector investment by 2014, and support many new jobs in research and engineering.