Deadline: 17-Nov-20
The National Research Council of Canada (NRC), in collaboration with Environment & Climate Change Canada (ECCC), Health Canada (HC) and Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), is seeking solutions for the manufacture of compostable disposable surgical masks and compostable disposable respirators to be used by healthcare workers.
Outcomes
The proposed solution must:
- Lead to the industrial-scale manufacturing of compostable disposable surgical masks (at least Level 1) and/or compostable disposable respirators (at least N95 equivalent). Applicants must reach a production capacity of 1 million masks/month at the end of Phase 2, and they must clearly provide their plans for larger-scale manufacturing and commercialization.
- Demonstrate compliance with the requirements of one of the two ASTM standard specifications, whichever is applicable: For example, products made of compostable biopolymers are certified to ASTM D6400, whereas, products made of compostable polymer coatings on paper or other compostable substrates are certified to ASTM D6868.
- Be manufactured in Canada.
- Demonstrate, via a cost analysis, that reasonable cost targets can be met to support commercial/market adoption.
- Bring environmental benefits compared to conventional, non-compostable equivalents, as demonstrated by Life Cycle Analysis (LCA).
Additional outcomes
The proposed solution should:
- Lead to the large-scale manufacturing of compostable disposable surgical masks with superior properties (e.g. Level 2, Level 3) and/or compostable disposable respirators with superior properties (e.g. N99-equivalent, N100-equivalent) complying with the requirements of the appropriate ASTM standard (see Essential Outcome 3), as demonstrated by prototypes and test data, and have the potential to be authorized by Health Canada.
- Be usable for the large-scale manufacturing of compostable disposable non-medical masks and complying with the requirements of the appropriate ASTM standard as demonstrated by prototypes and test data.
Funding Information
- Phase 1
- The maximum funding available for any Phase 1 grant resulting from this Challenge is $300,000.00 CAD;
- The maximum duration for any Phase 1 grant resulting from this Challenge is 4 months.
- Phase 2
- The maximum funding available for any Phase 2 grant resulting from this Challenge is: $1,000,000.00 CAD;
- The maximum duration for any Phase 2 grant resulting from this Challenge is: 8 months.
Eligibility Criteria
Solution proposals can only be submitted by a small business that meets all of the following criteria:
- for-profit;
- incorporated in Canada (federally or provincially);
- 499 or fewer full-time equivalent (FTE) employees;
- research and development activities that take place in Canada;
- 50% or more of its annual wages, salaries and fees are currently paid to employees and contractors who spend the majority of their time working in Canada;
- 50% or more of its FTE employees have Canada as their ordinary place of work;
- 50% or more of its senior executives (Vice President and above) have Canada as their principal residence.
For more information, visit https://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/101.nsf/eng/00117.html