SASKATOON, Saskatchewan--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Protein Industries Canada (PIC), a western Canadian supercluster of partners working to position Canada globally as the leading centre of high quality plant-based protein, is gaining additional members for its phase two application to the Federal Government.
The PIC consortium, which includes 60 partners, was recently shortlisted in the federal government Innovation Superclusters Initiative, which will invest up to $950 million over five years to support select superclusters that can be engines of economic growth for the country.
PIC and the Enterprise Machine Intelligence and Learning Initiative (EMILI), a consortium that was also formed in response to the supercluster initiative, have announced that over 50 of their members will now join PIC and participate in the protein supercluster.
"We are excited about the merger of the PIC and EMILI initiatives. This supercluster effort combines their expertise in plant protein with our intelligent systems technologies and will have positive impact in the Prairie Provinces and across Canada,” said Ray Bouchard, EMILI Board Chair and President and CEO Enns Brothers Ltd. “Both production and marketing will be supported and accelerated via development and application of a wide range of new technologies including artificial intelligence (AI), machine-learning, plant genetics and other transformative technologies functioning within a host of agri-food tools and systems. The final proposal will exhibit how we can bring close to a billion dollars of capital into the market, support commercialization activities and create good middle class jobs for Canadians."
“Together, PIC and EMILI members create a powerhouse supercluster, with tremendous knowledge and capacity to develop Canada as the best source of plant proteins and co-products, supported by leading edge technologies. “ said Frank Hart, Chair of Protein Industries Canada. “We welcome the breadth of expertise these new members bring to PIC. We anticipate this cluster will produce a new range of plant-derived foods, ingredients and feedstuffs, adding value to the high quality raw commodities that are produced in abundance on the prairies, increasing our trade opportunities and generating economic activity across the country. We look forward to completing the selection process with the Federal Government and beginning work next year.
The shortlisted applicants have been invited to submit detailed proposals by November 24, 2017, to be considered for the next phase of the process.
