The Sydney-based Verschuren Centre, which provides lab space to startups that need industrial fermentation and bioprocessing facilities, is receiving $926,500 from the Nova Scotia Forestry Innovation Transition Trust to help with the commercialization of forestry- or biomass preservation-related innovations.

The Trust operates a $50 million fund that will run until 2025 with a focus on backing pro-social, forestry-related research and development work, including R&D by post-secondary institutions and startups. Some $28 million has been committed to 15 projects so far.

The Verschuren Centre is a non-profit facility that provides contracted services for startups working in bio-processing, marine processing, carbon transformation, bioplastics, energy storage and sustainable resource use. Last year, it received a $2 million Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency grant to expand its operating capacity by a factor of 10. The centre works with Invest Nova Scotia to offer the AscendBio program, which helps biotech and agritech companies to scale up their technologies and business operations. 

“This funding will enable the Verschuren Centre to continue to grow and scale clean technologies for partners in the forestry and biomass sectors, allowing them to adapt new, high-value solutions,” said the organization’s president, Beth Mason, in a statement. “This adds new jobs and investments resulting from technology adaptation.”