Xerox Canada is collaborating with a government funded organization in order to bolster the commercialization of Canadian green technology.
GreenCentre Canada, which was created in 2009 and funded by the Government of Ontario, the federal government of Canada and local industry, works with chemistry researchers and entrepreneurs to develop environmentally friendly and sustainable chemistry technologies in preparation for industry adoption. It is a member of the Ontario Network of Entrepreneurs (ONE) and the Centre of Excellence for Commercialization and Research (CECR) and is located at the Innovation Park at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont.
The GreenCentre conducts product and application development work in its 10,000 square foot facility that contains wet labs with solvent handling systems, inert atmosphere glove boxes and analytical equipment. However, the GreenCentre Canada’s in-house laboratory is limited in scale. That’s why the organization is partnering with the Xerox Research Centre of Canada (XRCC) in order to take advantage of the imaging company’s engineering facility and 27,000 square foot chemical pilot plant in Mississauga, Ont.
“We are thrilled to have access to the infrastructure and expertise at XRCC, which allows us to take our technology development to a whole new level,” Rui Resendes, executive director of GreenCentre Canada, said in a statement. “We are now able to significantly expand our ability to serve our clients and stakeholders in advancing game-changing green chemistry technologies for industrial uptake.”
By working with XRCC, GreenCentre will be able to immediately expand its development capacity beyond the bench scale to pilot scale and respond to the industry’s need for appropriately scaled and de-risked green technology options, he said.
The agreement with XRCC allows GreenCentre to retain rights to new intellectual property created as part of the technology development and scale up at XRCC. GreenCentre said ensuring direct access to relevant IP “greatly improves the likelihood of industry adopting these promising technologies.”
“Our partnership with GreenCentre extends our foundation of chemical engineering best practices and green materials science,” Paul Smith, vice president and director of CRCC said. “It also underscores our commitment to sustainability and environmental responsibility in all of our materials and processes, while helping to nurture the growth of innovation here in Canada.”
Scientists at XRCC specialize in the design and development of electronic materials and specialty components; green chemistry; coatings; applied nanotechnology; polymer science; engineering; and, pilot plant scale-up.
Examples of its innovations include emulsion-aggregation toner, long-life photoreceptor materials, and conductive nano silver ink for electronics applications.
XRCC is part of the global Xerox Innovation Group made up of researchers and engineers in four world-renowned research centers.
The XRCC generates approximately 160 patentable ideas annually.