JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The National Research Council of Canada (NRC) and the Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC) have entered into a partnership to provide tools and expertise to Canadian firms, to translate research and development from the laboratory to the marketplace.
Together, the research companies would grow the local and national biotechnology and biomanufacturing industries through the development of new bioproducts for niche markets and manufacturing processes and products for industries beyond agriculture and health to also include the energy, mining and minerals sectors.
Leveraging existing capabilities and infrastructure, the organisations would comanage a fermentation facility located at Innovation Place, in Saskatoon. The partnership would also enable each organisation to meet the increasing demand for fermentation services, to expand current service offerings and decrease client wait times while accelerating the commercialisation of products.
Further, both parties would be able to take further advantage of their respective facilities to explore new business areas with a broader national scope.
"Saskatchewan is a global leader in biotechnology and this partnership will help to ensure this continues. In the past, we have embraced biotechnology to deliver more value to the agriculture sector and enhance food security on a global scale. This partnership will expand our capabilities to include the energy, mining and minerals sectors," Innovation Minister Jeremy Harrison said.
SRC CEO Dr Laurier Schramm added that the organisation could now explore new business areas with a broader national scope by leveraging the capabilities that NRC provided. “It will also allow SRC to expand our current service offerings which will help us better meet the needs of our clients."