Minister of Industry Announces $588,500 to Advance New Dalhousie Concrete Technology

Internationally marketed invention outperforms all others

(Halifax, Nova Scotia) Today the Honourable Brian Tobin, Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for NSERC (Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council), and Geoff Regan, MP for Halifax-West, announced federal funding of $588,500 to advance research in a groundbreaking concrete fibre reinforcement technology that was invented at Dalhousie University.

The collaborative team, led by Dalhousie's Jean-François Trottier, includes researchers from the Université de Sherbrooke and will receive financial support and partnership from three industrial partners: Grace Canada Inc., Atlantic Fiber Technologies Ltd., and Polysteel Atlantic Ltd. Federal funding is provided through an NSERC Collaborative Research and Development project grant.

"This technology is a true Atlantic Canadian success story," said Minister Tobin as he congratulated Dr. Trottier. "This is an internationally successful innovation, brought about by a partnership between universities and industry."

"Groundbreaking technology developed in Nova Scotia helps to enhance Dalhousie University's reputation as an international research centre of excellence," said Mr. Regan. "I too congratulate Dr. Trottier and his team on this significant achievement."

The technology has already been recognized for impressive performance and distributed internationally by one of the world's largest construction companies. It has been applied in countries around the world, including Canada, South Africa, Japan, and some European nations. Patents have been filed in over 40 countries.

This fibre technology recently outperformed all other similar reinforcing technologies in an independent British Columbia testing program. It will be further studied and refined to improve reinforcing capabilities and optimize performance. More specifically, the project will examine the fibre technology's performance at high and low temperatures and its resistance to a wide range of stressors such as fatigue, abrasion, freezing and thawing.

"NSERC provides a wide range of opportunities that encourage partnerships between university and industry," said Janet Walden, NSERC's Director General, Research Partnerships. "This exciting project shows what can be achieved and I hope it will encourage many new partnerships, particularly here in Atlantic Canada."

NSERC, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, invests in people, discovery and innovation and is the national instrument for making strategic investments in Canada's capability in science and technology.

For more information contact:

Francis Lionnet, NSERC Communications
Tel: (613) 992-9001
E-mail: francis.lionnet@nserc.ca.

Stacey Lewis, Dalhousie University,
Tel: (902) 494-1327
E-mail: stacey.lewis@dal.ca.