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INVESTMENTS IN FOREST INDUSTRY TRANSFORMATION

EXPRESSION OF INTERESTStream 1 – Capital Investment Projects

5th Call for Proposals

NOTES TO APPLICANTS

1. To select a checkbox - right click in the box, select “properties”, select “checked”.

2. It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure the character limits are respected for each question. The box sizes in this form do not necessarily reflect the character limit - you may wish use the “Word Count” tool in your word processor (e.g. in Microsoft Word: Review Tab / Proofing Section / Word Count Tool).

3. Unless otherwise specified, the “Proposed Project”, the “Project”, or the “Proposal” in this application form refers to the proposed project submitted to the Investments in Forest Industry Transformation (IFIT) program.

4. Completion and submission of this application to IFIT does not imply that the proposed project will be approved by IFIT.

5. Applicants must submit all information specified in this form. Failure to provide the necessary information may lead to rejection of the proposal. It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that the proposal clearly and thoroughly demonstrates how each criteria is met.

6. The applicant should provide information concisely while still providing sufficient details to ensure complete understanding by reviewers.

7. This form is confidential when completed, with the exception of marked fields.

8. When you have completed the Application Form, please submit all required information via the Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) Funding Portal - INTEGRO.

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1. APPLICANT INFORMATION:Legal name of organization:

If operating name is different, please provide it or enter NA:

Head Office Address:

Company GST Number:

Number of full time employees:

Annual sales in Canadian dollars:

2. APPLICATION INFORMATION

a) Application Stream

Stream 1.a: General Enterprise

Open to companies of any size, including small enterprises requesting more than $1 million for a total project of any cost. Maximum funding amount per project is $20 million.

Stream 1.b: Small Enterprise

To be eligible under this stream, applicants must meet all of the following conditions:

Company employs 50 or fewer people Funding amount requesting from IFIT is $1 million or less Total project cost including IFIT requested funding is $3 million or less

If the above conditions are not met, please select stream 1.a.b) Primary Contact

Name:

Title:

Company:

Telephone:

Email:

Project responsibilities:

Preferred language: English French

c) Secondary Contact

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Name:

Title:

Company:

Telephone:

Email:

Project responsibilities:

Preferred language: English French

3. PROJECT INFORMATION

a) General Project Information:

Project title:

Project location: Facility City Province Latitude/Longitude Co-ordinates

Provide a short description of the facility at which the project will take place (350 characters maximum):

Provide an executive summary of the project (1400 characters maximum):

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Detailed project description. (5,500 characters maximum)Please include:

the project objective(s). the main project activities. how the project represents an advancement of products or processes for the Canadian

forest sector. the intended economic, societal, and environmental outcomes (e.g. economic impact

for local region, jobs created, renewable energy production, etc.).

b) Project Partners

Name of Company Type of Organization Role in Project

c) Project Timing:

Estimated project start date (YYYY/MM):

Estimated project end date (YYYY/MM):

d) Project Funding:

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Estimated total project cost:IFIT funding request (maximum 50% of total project cost):Estimated total project cost by government fiscal year and funding source:Please note that government fiscal years run from April 1 – March 31 (e.g. April 1, 2020 – March 31, 2021)

Funding Source

April 2020-March 2021

April 2021- March 2022

April 2022-March 2023

April 2023-March 2025

Total Amount

IFIT Program

N/A IFIT eligible cost period ended March 31, 2023.

Applicant

Other

Total Project

e) Other Sources of Funding:Please note that confirmed funding means that an agreement has been signed.Name of Organization Requested Funding Amount Confirmed (Yes/No)

f) Construction Readiness

Please indicate which of the following are in place for the project as of the date of expression of interest submission:

Construction-ready engineering and costing studies.

Required permitting and environmental assessments have been applied for and approved or are pending approval and will be issued according to project schedule

A confirmed project site with the necessary resources.

Third party funding is confirmed.

Project internally approved for spending.

Fibre supply/feedstock confirmed.5

4. MANDATORY CRITERIA

a) Eligible Recipients

Eligible recipients are for-profit companies located in Canada that either:

produce forest products in an existing forest product manufacturing facility (for example, pulp, paper, or solid/engineered wood products facility)

OR are/will be new entrants in the forest sector for the purpose of the proposed project.

Eligible recipients can include includes clusters, joint ventures, and consortiums, provided that a for-profit company acts as the lead applicant.

Do you meet the above criteria? Yes No

Describe your company’s principal line of business. (350 characters maximum)

What forest product(s) is currently or will be manufactured as a result of the project? (350 characters maximum)

b) Technology AdvancementThe proposed project must constitute an advancement in the Canadian forest sector.

All of the following must be true to meet this criteria:

The project will produce or will lead to the production of innovative bioproducts or bioenergy OR will employ new process to produce forest products.

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The proposed project will be carried out at a pilot to commercial scale. (IFIT funding cannot support projects at a research and development stage.)

The project should be the first installation, at the proposed scale and specifications, in the Canadian forest sector (including components of larger systems and technologies that improve efficiency of upstream activities or logistics within the forest sector supply chain).

Do you meet the above criteria? Yes No

Clearly describe how you meet the above criteria. Be sure to include how the project is rationalized as a first-in-kind in Canada. (2,700 characters maximum):

What is the scale of your project?

Pilot or demonstration scale – Technology employed to produce a small quantity of a product for technical and market analysis (i.e. will produce small volumes in support of future full-scale development).

Commercial – Full scale facility that intends to produce products for profit.

Unsure

c) Integration within the Forest Sector Supply Chain

The projects must be located at an industrial facility, existing or new, in Canada. It may be:

connected to an existing forest sector industrial process (e.g. innovative process or technology to improve efficiency within an existing (open or closed) facility).OR

a stand-alone facility within the supply chain (e.g. production of an innovative new product at a designated facility).

Do you meet the above criteria? Yes No

Clearly describe how you meet the above criteria. (2,700 characters maximum):

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d) Wood Fibre

Project uses material that is derived from wood fibre. This includes, but is not limited to, by-products generated by industrial wood processing and wood residues.

Do you meet the above criteria? Yes No

Clearly describe how you meet the above criteria. (700 characters maximum):

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Please PRINT, SIGN, and SCAN this section and include it as a pdf in your application submission.

Applicant Name:

Project Title:

Date Submitted (YY/MM/DD):

Attestations:

By submitting this proposal, the project applicant:

1. Attests that the information provided is accurate to the best of their knowledge.

2. Understands that the information provided in the Expression of Interest (EOI) will be used for two (2) purposes:

a. As a self-assessment tool to help applicants understand if they are eligible under the Program.

b. As a means for the Investments in Forest Industry Transformation (IFIT) Program to provide basic feedback to applicants on eligibility prior to submitting their full proposals.

EOIs are not intended as a pass/fail measure. However, if the number of EOIs received is significantly higher than expected, the Program reserves the ability to advance a reduced number of projects to the full proposal stage based on an assessment of project eligibility.

3. Attests that approval, from any affected parties, has been obtained to share any confidential information that is included in the application.

Please note that federal reviewers are bound by the requirements of the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act regarding the treatment of confidential information.

4. Understands that, if the project is accepted under the IFIT Program, no liability and no obligation exists on the part of Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) to make a financial contribution to the project until a written contribution agreement is signed by both parties.

5. Understands that funding obtained under the IFIT Program can not be used for the production or export of softwood lumber products.

6. Acknowledges that Diversity and Inclusion measures will be a required component of the contribution agreement and a mandatory project reporting metric.

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7. Agrees, by checking below, that NRCan can share non-confidential information provided with other funding agencies in cases where this may be of benefit to the Project or Applicant.

NRCan will safeguard personal information according to federal information protection standards under the Privacy Act and other applicable provincial or territorial privacy legislation of relevance.

Yes, information can be shared No, information cannot be shared

Please sign below to confirm these attestations:

Signature Date YY/MM/DD

Name of Duly Authorized Officer for Applicant Title

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