Grant: Canada Research Chairs

Intensifying use of fossil fuels, greenhouse gas emissions, global warming, and waste management are some of the critical socio-environmental issues today. As the Canadian government and corporations commit to the net zero emission target by 2050, accelerating innovation and market deployment of clean energy and carbon-offsetting solutions are becoming imperatively important. With more per capita biomass from agriculture and forests than any other country, Canada has the unique opportunity to become a leader in reaching net zero by producing, adopting, and utilizing biofuels and bioproducts. Although agri-forestry biomass and biowastes contain essential substrates to produce biofuels, the key challenge lies in developing intensive and scalable processes for their extraction, conversion, and diversification to match societal and industrial needs. Dr. Sonil Nanda’s proposed research program as a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in “Clean Agricultural Technology and Energy” at Dalhousie University targets unique and innovative thermochemical, hydrothermal, and biological methods to efficiently valorize agri-forestry biomass and biogenic wastes into high-value biofuels, biocarbon, and bioproducts for viable applications. Through cutting-edge research, this program will enable clean and scalable process development to transform diverse biowastes into solid, liquid, and gaseous biofuels with technological readiness and adaptability for commercialization and use in existing fuel infrastructures. From conception to results dissemination, this program will be a nexus to engage with users from cleantech industries, academia, biomass supply chains, and resource recovery facilities to drive bioenergy innovation to market, build a resilient agri-forestry sector, and deliver socio-economic benefits to Canadians. This program will allow Dr. Nanda to create an equitable learning environment to hire and train the next generation of highly qualified personnel as innovative thinkers with career-ready hands-on skills and a competitive advantage to pursue future training and employment in bioenergy, waste valorization, green chemistry, and biorefining technologies. The program strategically aims to support Canada’s mandates for decarbonization, clean energy security, circular bioeconomy, and the development of sustainable technologies and bioenergy commodities from indigenous biowastes that could create new market opportunities for agri-forestry sectors and cleantech businesses.