Lambton County Council has directed staff to finalize up to $4.5-million in loans to Bio-industrial Innovation Canada.
The Sarnia-based not-for-profit, which holds and oversees investments into companies involved in the commercialization of new technologies, requested the funds back in March -- in order to leverage a matching contribution from the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario).
General Manager of Finance John Innes says $2.5-million will be advanced in the form of a loan to be repaid over five years.
"The remaining $2-million, we would provide to the BIC's SCA [Sustainable Chemistry Alliance] in the form of an equity investment," says Innes.
He will report back to council in September on the details of the investment agreement.
BIC has invested in 14 projects since it's inception in 2008, including BioAmber's $141-million plant on Vidal St. S.
