The Honourable Michelle Rempel, Minister of State for Western Economic Diversification, was in Burnaby today to announce an investment of over $4.3 million. This money will go towards the creation of the Centre for Soft Materials established within 4D LABS facility.

Done in partnership with Simon Fraser University, the Centre for Soft Materials will host a suite of sophisticated equipment at the Centre, allowing local firms and innovators from a variety of sectors to test advanced soft materials under real-world conditions, greatly reducing the time to market.

In addition to expediting new technologies to market, the Centre for Soft Materials will also train the next generation of highly qualified personnel in the soft materials field. With this investment, the Harper Government is bringing together academia and industry to support the creation of new economic opportunities.

Quick Facts

• These technologies will be used in the lighting, information technology, medicine, measurement and controls, electronics, clean energy, and security industry sectors.
• The Cryo-Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) microscope cryogenically assesses materials, reducing the need for expensive field tests.
• The Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) reduces the time to collect data from hours to minutes.

Quotes

"By helping provide the tools and infrastructure needed to solve industry-specific issues, our Government is working to ensure the continued prosperity of the West and all of Canada. We are proud to work with Simon Fraser University and our industry partners on this project which will help our companies accelerate commercial opportunities.”

– Michelle Rempel, Minister of State for Western Economic Diversification

“Through this investment from the Government of Canada, and SFU's ongoing partnership with the Automotive Fuel Cell Cooperation, 4D LABS is now able to expand its capabilities to enable a more accurate nano-scale analysis of a diverse array of soft materials ranging from cellular materials to polymers. Academic and industrial researchers across Western Canada will benefit from the addition of the Centre for Soft Materials to SFU's 4D LABS, and it will facilitate product innovation and economic development in the region.”

– Dr. Byron Gates, Canada Research Chair in Surface Chemistry and Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry, Simon Fraser University

“This partnership between the Automotive Fuel Cell Cooperation and the Centre for Soft Materials sets an example how cooperation among government, industry and academia can promote Canada, and British Columbia in particular, as the premier location for fuel cell stack producers and their many suppliers.”

– Tim Bovich, Chief Financial Officer, Automotive Fuel Cell Cooperation