Province Invests in Biotechnology Sector
CANADA, August 13 - The Province is helping biotechnology scale-up facility the Verschuren Centre expand its capacity, create new jobs and launch a new training program.
The provincial investment will support further improvements to the centre’s specialized precision fermentation technology – unique in Canada – at its facility in the Sydport Industrial Park in Cape Breton Regional Municipality. It will position Nova Scotia as a leader in the biomanufacturing sector and also allow the centre to support an additional 10 companies per year and create about 100 new highly skilled jobs.
“An investment in the Verschuren Centre is an investment in growth and development across sectors and across the province,” said Premier Tim Houston. “Their work supports dozens of companies in important fields like health and wellness, agriculture and clean technology. We know this money will have a far-reaching impact, and I’m thrilled about the opportunities it will create.”
The centre will receive $600,000 through the Province’s Community Economic Development Fund and another $600,000 from the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA).
The investment will also help the centre expand an in-house skills training program with the Collège communautaire du Nouveau-Brunswick to help meet a growing demand for technicians in fermentation, electronics, automation and process engineering.
Quotes:
“Innovation is one of Canada’s greatest strengths, and facilities like 10X help turn innovative ideas into real economic opportunities. ACOA’s continued support will help companies develop, test and scale new technologies right here in Atlantic Canada, strengthening our innovation ecosystem and supporting a more resilient and competitive Canadian economy.”
— Sean Fraser, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
“Today’s joint funding helps continue the support from our partners to make Nova Scotia the hub for scale up of biomanufacturing technologies from across North America. It creates one-of-a-kind infrastructure, supports skills training and advances investment in companies’ growth to commercial deployment. These companies impact sustainable manufacturing and secure food systems in Canada.”
— Beth Mason, Executive Chair, Verschuren Centre
Quick Facts:
- the Verschuren Centre’s industrial bioprocessing scale-up facility in Sydport is often called 10X, in reference to its 10,000-litre precision fermentation line
- the Community Economic Development Fund helps sectors and communities increase economic competitiveness and productivity
- the Province contributed $2.5 million toward the development of the Verschuren Centre demonstration plant in 2022 and $1 million toward increasing capacity and training in 2025
- ACOA’s $600,000 contribution is from the Regional Economic Growth through Innovation program and brings ACOA’s total support for this project to $4.6 million
Additional Resources:
Community Economic Development Fund: https://www.novascotia.ca/apply-project-funding-community-economic-development-fund
Provincial programs for businesses: https://novascotia.ca/grow-your-business/
Nova Scotia Loyal: https://nsloyal.ca/
Invest Nova Scotia: https://investnovascotia.ca/
Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency: https://www.canada.ca/en/atlantic-canada-opportunities.html
Verschuren Centre: https://www.verschurencentre.ca/
Other than cropping, Province of Nova Scotia photos are not to be altered in any way
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