A Chatham ethanol plant is in a race to produce the next jet fuel and it's getting help from a neighbour across the street.
The Vice President of Greenfield Global John Wilkinson believes that organic waste from Truly Green Farms can one day be turned into a biofuel that can power jets.
A $3.7-million federal government loan was announced on Monday to pipe waste heat underground from Greenfield to boost Truly Green's tomato production and the return waste could boost Greenfield's chances of success.
Wilkinson thinks the entire world is trying to find a replacement for aviation fuel to reduce the carbon footprint.
"There's a lot of work that we're doing as a company to unlock that and we think that's what the world needs in the 21st century. It'll be something that we could commercialize around the world but we would start by doing it at our own plants, three in Ontario and one in Quebec," says Wilkinson.
The Liberal MP for London North Centre made the announcement on behalf of the agriculture minister and says not enough of these partnerships exist across Canada.
He says the government will tout this as a great example and model for others to follow.
Greenfield Global is a world leader in specialty alcohols and the largest ethanol producer in Canada.
Wilkinson says other companies are in the hunt to provide the world with new aviation fuel.
"The kind of strength and relationship that we have with Truly Green gives us, in our opinion, a leg up in that race to find the new biofuels for jet engines," Wilkinson says.
Wilkinson says somebody's garbage is somebody else's treasure and it keeps waste from the landfill.
"Instead of putting things into landfills, can we take that and capture that value and turn it into product so it goes back and forth. That's an example of a circular economy that things loop back and forth across the street," says Wilkinson.