(MarketWire)  An investment of $1.86 million by the Government of Canada will help two Canadian businesses grow their operations and collectively create a total of 22 new jobs in St. Marys, where the companies will be converting egg by-products and industrial emissions into high-value goods. The announcement was made today by Gary Schellenberger, Member of Parliament for Perth-Wellington, on behalf of the Honourable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario).

“Our Government is proud to invest in these two innovative businesses, Perth County Ingredients and Pond Biofuels, which are contributing to the diversification of St. Marys’ economy,” said MP Schellenberger. “These contributions will enhance the overall competitive advantage of the region and lead to opportunities for job creation, growth and long-term prosperity.”

FedDev Ontario’s contribution of $947,500 through its Prosperity Initiative will allow Perth County Ingredients, a subsidiary of Vanderpol’s Eggs, to purchase the equipment needed to produce a high-value pet food ingredient using by-products from eggs produced in southern Ontario. A second contribution of $908,280 through FedDev Ontario’s Investing in Business Innovation initiative will help Pond Biofuels accelerate the commercialization of its technology used to capture carbon dioxide from raw stack emissions and produce algae that can subsequently be converted into biofuels.

“Egg protein has the highest biological availability and sets the standard by which other proteins are measured for pet food diets,” said Mike Vanderpol, President, Vanderpol’s Eggs. “This funding will help us expand our process to concentrate and purify this high-value protein to supply the growing market for quality pet food ingredients.”

“Pond Biofuels is ecstatic to partner with FedDev Ontario to leverage public and private contributions from our angel investors,” stated Steven Martin, CEO and Chief Scientist of Pond Biofuels. “The Investing in Business Innovation initiative will allow us to accelerate the commercialization of our technology towards an industrial scale CO2-to-algae facility.”

For more information on these projects, the Prosperity Initiative and the Investing in Business Innovation Initiative, please see thebackgrounder.

The investment announced today supports the Government of Canada’s science, technology, and innovation agenda, which is focused on increasing the country’s productivity, creating jobs and growing the economy.

Created in 2009, FedDev Ontario supports the southern Ontario economy by building on the region’s strengths and creating opportunities for jobs and economic growth. The Agency has launched a number of initiatives to create a Southern Ontario Advantage and place the region in a strong position to compete in the global economy. These initiatives are designed to encourage partnerships and support projects that help the region’s businesses and communities become more competitive, innovative and diversified.  READ MORE