The Ontario BioCar Initiative

The Ontario BioCar Initiative represents a partnership between the automotive industry and the public sector, aimed at accelerating the use of biomass in automotive materials.

The research team from four Universities, University of Guelph, University of Toronto, University of Waterloo and University of Windsor, was granted $5.9M from the Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation, $5.9M matching Institutional funds and $5.9M from 12 private sector partners. Through this public and private sector research, we will establish a globally leading initiative to bring products from the field and forest to the highway. With the focus on the replacement of petroleum-based products by biochemicals and high content bio-fibre materials, the outcomes of research will have a significant positive effect on the profitability of Ontario farming, Ontario forestry, and create a sustainable, competitive edge for the Ontario automotive value chain..

Research Objectives

The BioCar Initiative is focused on the reduction of the cost of automotive bio-products while maintaining or improving value. To this end, we have established an inter-institutional research team that will be able to address constraints to achieving this goal at every step of bioproduct production.