What I would say is that relative to the commercialization arc, or the path of commercialization, on these new and value-added products from the forest sector, it really depends on the platform or the nature of the product.
Today we would say that fibre and fibre-based materials are the most commercially developed, most value-added product. Behind that, we would rank lignin. As I mentioned earlier, I would say that lignin in significant volumes and value-add, and the applications for lignin, are potentially in the two-to-eight-year timeframe.
For what we refer to as a “convertible saccharide”, or the sugars platform, where you deconstruct the cellulose in the woods to organic acids or to material that can be fermented, that's a little further out. It's also economically more challenging, because in that case you're competing against dextrose. Particularly in the United States, where dextrose from corn is subsidized, it's an extremely challenging environment, particularly in the capital-intensive approach, to try to go into.
The extractives, saponifiables, and volatiles are a relatively small component. It's highly developed, but not big enough to move the needle, as it were.
One of our philosophies is that what we need to do is take advantage of the uniqueness and the competitive advantages that our platforms offer us. If you look at the forest, the thing that is truly unique is the ultrastructure and the functionality of the fibre, so it makes sense that it's the most developed. The next area where we have competitive advantages is in the poly-aromaticity and the green properties of the lignin. The sugar is going to be a little more challenging. But the issue we have is that the wood all comes in together. All of these components come in together. In order to be successful, you have to valorize all of them in the true concept of the refinery.
The last thing I would say is that, as I mentioned earlier, there are structural cost disadvantages in North America in general and in Canada specifically. When you have a cost disadvantage, the only way you can succeed and be sustainable is to have a performance competitive advantage, a better product. In fact, if you look at the mills that have been left standing, that's exactly what they have. They have a superior fibre that allows them to overcome other cost disadvantages.
In order to keep emphasizing better performance, we need to innovate. In order to innovate, we need to sponsor, first, fundamental research, and then this path to commercialization.