Our most recent R&D production run did something new: we successfully added biochar to 3D printing filament.
For us this is about more than one more filament. It is about finding out how renewable, lower-impact, carbon-based materials can become part of the next generation of manufacturing, and how they can reduce our reliance on fossil-based plastics.
Made through collaboration
This run came out of a strong Alberta innovation network. Alberta Innovates provided financial support, an Alberta biochar producer supplied the biochar, the Bio Processing Innovation Centre in Edmonton worked on the formulations with us, a Canadian filament maker took the blend from the lab to an actual production run, and NAIT managed the project and brought the partners together.
Biochar, biocomposites and additive manufacturing together open up some exciting possibilities, from new uses for renewable, carbon-rich feedstocks to parts that rely far less on oil.
Made through collaboration. Developed in Alberta. And we are just getting started. See the range at Convergence Composites.