Innovation

UMaine-led FOR/Maine coalition chosen as a finalist for up to $100 million in EDA’s Build Back Better Regional Challenge

Proposal aims to accelerate the Northern Forest Bioeconomy through innovation, commercialization, workforce and community redevelopment The FOR/Maine Coalition has been named by the Economic Development Administration (EDA) as a finalist in the $1 billion Build Back Better Regional Challenge. The University of Maine was awarded the $500,000 grant to support the coalition to further develop […]

RFP: Forest Economy Educational Connections

1.3 Purpose of the RFP FOR/Maine is interested deepening existing place-based efforts to engage K-12 students, rural communities, and industry partners in developing educational connections to forest economy topics and subjects, with the goal of spurring interest among youth in a career in forest products in Maine. This work is related to implementing recommendations from […]

Ongoing research collaboration brings forest bioproducts to Bangor middle schoolers

Ashley Forbes, ashley.forbes@maine.edu June 25, 2021  This year, when eighth graders Ian Blackwell and Nik Horton were looking for a project for the Maine State Middle School Science & Engineering Fair, they spotted a spiffy varnished wood box tricked out with bracing and hardware in their science classroom at the James F. Doughty School in Bangor, […]

Rock Row development begins new phase with a new construction material, a first for Maine

By Maureen Milliken Developers of Rock Row in Westbrook have announced the launch of the commercial phase of the massive mixed-use development, and there’s a twist. This phase will include Maine’s first commercial building constructed from cross-laminated timber.

Ashland looks to generate investment around new forest industry product

May 14, 2021 By Maureen Milliken The town of Ashland is launching a development program, Original Mass Timber Maine, that aims to build markets for structural round timber, a low-cost and carbon-friendly building product that is a perfect fit for the state’s forest industry, those behind the initative say. The three-year project, funded by a grant to […]

As Maine forest products initiative advances, workforce shortage remains an issue

April 6, 2021 By Maureen Milliken The issue for Maine’s forest product industry after a year of a pandemic economy is one it faced before the pandemic — finding the workforce to cut down, haul and manage the timber and the products it produces. When Forest Opportunity Roadmap/Maine, a coaltion of industry stakeholders, was formed in 2018, the focus […]

Biocarbon processing plant plans to locate at East Millinocket mill site

new Maine company plans to build a plant that will sequester carbon from Maine forests at the former Great Northern paper mill site in East Millinocket. Standard Biocarbon Corp. has signed a letter of intent with the East Millinocket Industrials Inc. board of directors to site a pyrolysis plant at the former mill site. If completed […]

New UMaine equipment will turn twigs and tree bark into jet fuel and heating oil

With help from federal funding, two forest bioproducts processing plants at the University of Maine will upgrade their equipment to expand their research into finding renewable energy uses for wood byproducts, such as jet fuel or home heating oil.

$4.8M will upgrade Forest Bioproducts Research Institute facilities, bolster bioproduct research

The University of Maine Forest Bioproducts Research Institute (FBRI) will upgrade its Technology Research Center (TRC) in Old Town and Process Development Center (PDC) in Jenness Hall to bolster ongoing efforts to create new bioproducts, increase production and find uses for woody biomass materials typically considered waste.