MP Cheryl Gallant Announces Government of Canada support to Local Firm for research and innovation

December 23, 2009

Petawawa, Ontario — Cheryl Gallant, Member of Parliament for Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke, today announced a contribution for Glenergy Inc. from the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC-IRAP) in the amount of $41,472.00. “I am pleased to congratulate Glenergy President Glen MacGillivray on his successful application,” said Cheryl Gallant, MP.

"Our government is investing in science and technology to create jobs, strengthen the economy and improve Canadians' quality of life," said Cheryl Gallant, MP. "Canada's Economic Action Plan provides close to $5 billion toward science and technology initiatives. This represents one of the single-largest federal budget investments in Science & Technology to date, contributing to the creation of a stronger, more innovative economy and a more prosperous Canada."

This $41,472 contribution from NRC-IRAP will support the Petawawa-based company in researching and developing a solar cooker. Sunlight contains somewhat less energy than is required for cooking. Concentration by a factor of ten would allow generation of ‘red heat,’ sufficient for cooking by any method. While many solar cookers exist, few are being used. Glenergy will use the federal contribution to develop a solar cooker that will have wider usage.

“I understand that Glenergy is attempting to concentrate sunlight  and transmit the concentrated sunlight into the home where it can be collected in an absorber and converted to useful heat for cooking,” said MP Gallant. “To do this, they are both modeling and experimenting, with reflectors and light pipes, and with various approaches to absorption of the light, like conversion to heat, and to the transmission of the heat for suitable cooking efficiency and uniformity.”

"Investing in science and technology is critical for developing highly skilled people and improving the long-term competitiveness of Canadian firms," said Cheryl Gallant, MP. "That's why NRC-IRAP is helping innovative Canadian businesses such as Glenergy grow stronger, faster, and bigger."

About NRC and NRC-IRAP
The NRC Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC-IRAP) provides a range of both technical and business-oriented advisory services along with necessary financial support to qualified innovative Canadian small- and medium-sized enterprises. The Government of Canada's Economic Action Plan has provided new resources of $200 million over the next two years to bolster NRC-IRAP support for innovative Canadian firms. While the program operates three separate contribution programs — contribution to firms, contribution to organizations and a Youth Employment Program — NRC-IRAP's main contribution component is in the form of a non-repayable contribution that reimburses the labour costs of a research and development project directly to firms.