Nine projects in New Brunswick share nearly $20M in federal funding

Moncton, NB – Nine R&D projects in New Brunswick are receiving a total of $19.6 million in federal funding support under Round VII of the Atlantic Innovation Fund (AIF).

The projects include:

Umoe Solar New Brunswick (Miramichi) Project: Advanced Solar Energy Conversion Umoe Solar New Brunswick will focus its efforts on developing new technology to produce more efficient solar energy devices at a lower cost, providing an alternative source of clean, renewable energy. The research will centre around producing solar-grade silicon and, over the longer term, study third generation solar energy conversion devices. This project, with total estimated costs of $5.3 million, will receive approximately $3 million from the Atlantic Innovation Fund over a four-year period.

University of New Brunswick (Fredericton) Project: Accelerating Java Using Massive Multi-Core Systems This project is expected to enhance the processing power and speed of computer systems for commercial/research performance benefits. Working with IBM, the University of New Brunswick (UNB) will create a set of software tools and techniques to run IBM’s J9 Java Virtual Machine more efficiently on massive multicore systems. IBM will establish a Center for Advanced Study (CAS) at UNB specializing in the areas of Java virtual machines and massive multicore systems. This is IBM’s first CAS in Atlantic Canada. This project, with total estimated costs of $5.1 million, will receive approximately $3 million from the Atlantic Innovation Fund over a four-year period.

BioProspecting NB (Moncton) Project: Soricidin-Derived Peptides for Targeted Cancer Management BioProspecting NB is a drug development company focused on novel therapeutics for cancer and chronic pain treatments. The project will focus on the development and commercialization of a diagnostic tool for early detection and treatment of ovarian cancer. This project, with total estimated costs of $5.1 million, will receive approximately $2.9 million from the Atlantic Innovation Fund over a two- year period.

Atlantic Cancer Research Institute (Moncton) Project: Next Generation Biomarker Technology for Early Cancer Detection Through this project, the Atlantic Cancer Research Institute (ACRI) will focus on the development of a new technology to identify markers that classify different stages of cancer and help determine whether a patient should be included or excluded from follow-up treatments such as chemotherapy or surgery. The project includes the advancement of recent discoveries funded through two past AIF projects. This project, with total estimated costs of $5.7 million, will receive approximately $2.8 million from the Atlantic Innovation Fund over a four-year period.

Atlantic Hydrogen (Fredericton) Project: Production of Carbons for Energy Storage and Conductive Applications Atlantic Hydrogen has created CarbonSaver, a new technology that produces hydrogen and carbon from natural gas to make a more efficient fuel while at the same time providing an alternative source of clean energy. Atlantic Hydrogen will use the carbon produced to offset operating costs and will aim to make the CarbonSaver technology highly competitive with other energy-related CO2 (carbon dioxide) reduction strategies. This project, with total estimated costs of $4.2 million, will receive approximately $2 million from the Atlantic Innovation Fund over a three-year period.

University of New Brunswick – Institute of Biomedical Engineering Project: Portable Bio-Tone tool-kit for performance assessment of muscle impairment UNB’s Institute of Biomedical Engineering will work to develop a technically robust, easy to use, inexpensive, and portable tool-kit that can be used to perform routine, clinically accepted, assessments of muscle impairment and function outside the clinic. This project, with total estimated costs of $2.5 million, will receive approximately $1.9 million from the Atlantic Innovation Fund over a four- year period.

Spielo Manufacturing ULC (Moncton) Project: SPIELO Responsible Gaming Solution Spielo Manufacturing ULC, in collaboration with the University of New Brunswick and Dalhousie University, will research and develop a Responsible Gaming Player Tracking Module and a new class of entertainment games based on the principles of responsible gaming. The Module will give operators a set of flexible software tools to assist in the creation and management of responsible gaming programs. This project, with total estimated costs of $2.5 million, will receive approximately $1.9 million from the Atlantic Innovation Fund over an 18-month period.

Centre for Nuclear Energy Research (Fredericton) Project: Smart Instrumentation for the Energy Sector The Centre for Nuclear Energy Research, in collaboration with NB Power Nuclear, CANDU Owners Group , Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd., and the New Brunswick Research and Productivity Council will develop and potentially commercialize instrumentation to monitor the condition of steel piping systems, designed to increase efficiency and security in nuclear and non-nuclear facilities. This project, with total estimated costs of $1.8 million, will receive approximately $1.3 million from the Atlantic Innovation Fund over a three-year period.

University of New Brunswick (Fredericton) Project: Creating More Value for Hemicelluloses in Pulp & Paper Industry The Limerick Pulp and Paper Centre (LPPC) at UNB, in collaboration with AV Nackawic, NB and KnowCharge, NB will research methods to increase pulp yield and strength as well as develop new technology for the production of conductive packaging materials. The LPPC is the only pulp and paper research centre in Atlantic Canada. This project, with total estimated costs of $1.7 million, will receive approximately $1 million from the Atlantic Innovation Fund over a five-year period.