The adoption of clean technologies by businesses is at the heart of greening the economy. Écotech Québec, whose mission is to promote this trend, notes that companies and organizations from across the province and from various sectors of activity are making their contribution.
The President and CEO of Écotech Québec, Isabelle Dubé-Côté, is delighted with this observation, especially since, “to make the transition successful, we will need solutions from various clean technology sub-sectors.” , she emphasizes in an interview.
Moreover, no sector was missing during the third Eureka awards ceremony! by Écotech Québec Thursday evening. “It facilitates our objective of demonstrating that, regardless of the sector, it is possible to be more competitive and reduce our environmental impact thanks to clean technologies,” says the president of Écotech Québec.
Quebec has just experienced pivotal years in terms of implementation, she observes. “We are able to accelerate the development, financing and deployment of clean technologies. »
These all have a role to play if we want to achieve the Canadian objectives set for 2050 in terms of carbon neutrality, believes Ms. Dubé-Côté.
In particular, it has seen a proliferation of nature-based solutions and those relating to energy efficiency and the circular economy.
One of the 2022-2023 finalists for the Eureka! awards, the St-Pancrace microbrewery, established in Baie-Comeau, contributes precisely to the circular economy of its region, on the North Shore, thanks to an ingenious spent grain dryer designed by JKS Constructions.
The micro wanted to make the most of its brewing residue (called spent grain), a raw material which, when moist, can be kept for less than 24 hours. To do this, it was necessary to dry it.
The dryer has proven to be a very successful solution, since it benefits two other businesses in the Manicouagan region: the vegetable and hop farm Les jardin de Carmanor and the cultivator ChampiNord. The first feeds its chickens, while the second incorporates it into the substrate used to cultivate its mushrooms.
Thanks to the spent grain that St-Pancrace gives them, they have both seen their productivity increase and their expenses linked to the purchase of raw materials to feed the poultry and grow the mushrooms reduced.
“They’re the stars! “, says St-Pancrace’s production director, André Morin, in an interview. “They’re the ones operating the equipment. Without these partners, we would continue to throw away the dregs. »
But since municipal composting will be implemented in Baie-Comeau this year, indicates this ambassador from the North Shore, the spent grain will be composted rather than thrown away when unforeseen circumstances prevent them from picking it up.
It remains that “as long as you have an already existing raw material, it is better to use the residues to benefit other companies than to make compost,” underlines André Morin, who sources his grain from the surroundings of Lévis and Beauce. “It makes more sense when it’s valued. »
Thanks to the dryer, the microbrewery now diverts 100 tonnes of spent grain per year from landfills, in addition to promoting the circular economy and food security in its region.
Especially since transport costs on the North Shore have exploded, he adds.
Ultimately, in addition to the ecological benefits of the dryer, it is the fact of having contributed to the growth of two young companies in an approach to food sovereignty that makes André Morin particularly proud.
“Having made it possible to increase the production of eggs and mushrooms in Manicouagan, which restaurateurs use to promote the terroir, having these foods on our tables is a source of great pride. It’s in our DNA to promote the North Shore and its producers. »
