The University of New Brunswick (UNB) is a medium-size, comprehensive university that comprises over 11,000 undergraduate and graduate students, 2,000 faculty and staff, and more than 63,000 alumni.

Annual research income has risen from $22 M in 1999 to over $50 M in 2007. Since the start-up of the intellectual property and technology transfer program in 1999, UNB has had 156 invention disclosures; filed 123 patents (for 37 technologies); completed 53 tech transfer deals; and realized over $1,260,677 in licensing and patent revenues. As well, since 2000, over $60 M in venture capital investments have been made in companies that have commercialized technology from UNB.

Recognized to be Canada's top forestry educational institution, the Faculty of Forestry and Environmental Management at UNB is also well known for its expertise in several disciplines that are relevant to biomass and bioenergy. These disciplines include forest inventory and management, forest policy, forest genomics, and socio-economic impacts of forestry activities. The Faculty has a long history of assisting government forestry departments and industry with their technical needs and policy development. As well as academic research, several of the Faculty's research centres, including the Wood Science and Technology Centre, and Forest Watershed Management and Conservation Research Centre, are renowned for their industry relevant research and reputation in developing practical tools and technologies that meet the needs of the industry. The Wood Science and Technology Centre has recently performed feasibility studies for local economic development agencies and interest groups on using local biomass to produce solid biofuel products. To further strengthen its position in solid biofuel products, the Wood Science and Technology Centre has signed an MOU with the Austrian Bioenergy Centre to conduct joint research, and it is leading an initiative to establish the Canadian BioEnergy Centre at UNB.

Applied research and commercialization for forestry has of course been a tenant to the Wood Science and Technology Center for over 20 years. The Wood Science and Technology Centre (WSTC) is committed to helping wood products manufacturers enhance their competitive position in the global market place, through product and process innovation. Using innovative technologies to develop quality products, WSTC has assisted numerous Canadian firms through testing and auditing services. WSTC is a 17025 accredited testing laboratory through the Standards Council of Canada.

The WSTC research team is comprised of wood technologists, biologists, bio-technologists, chemists, timber engineers, and specialists in wood processing and composite panels. WSTC staff has extensive background in wood science and processing. We also have a network of experts who are available to assist with specific industrial issues such as marketing, market research, plant layout and foreign certification of products.

WSTC also provides testing and development services to the bio-energy community through feasibility studies, material properties testing, process development for chips, pellets, briquettes of wood and agricultural residues.

UNB's chemistry and engineering schools have excellent background in successful research and commercialization, with several labs and centers available to support Bio- Energy related activities, including:

• Hydro Processing Lab - provides testing and research into petroleum and diesel related areas, including sulphur and nitrogen removal.
• Sustainable Power Research Group - provides electrical conversion and inverter designs for various power generation systems to the grid.