Capacity a major challenge as CANMET Energy Technology Centre trains R&D sights on improving energy usage and efficiency

A strong case can be made that the CANMET Energy Technology Centre (CETC) is in an enviable position as attention increasingly turns towards urgent global issues such as climate change, energy efficiency and energy conservation. As Canada's biggest federal laboratory for energy technologies, the Ottawa-based Centre runs a collection of programs geared towards assisting the public and private sectors in developing clean energy sources and using energy more efficiently and cost effectively.

Part technology centre and part funding agency, CETC spends about two thirds of its $35 million annual budget on energy R&D and one third on demonstration, with about 15% generated through cost-recovery. Its list of private sector clients and collaborators runs into the hundreds, and its influence is not merely confined to Canada.

But CETC is also struggling under the kinds of budget constraints that are afflicting virtually every federal laboratory. Aging infrastructure, an aging work force, uncompetitive salaries and a lack of funds to expand its R&D activities and conduct field trials are threatening to undermine its ability to fulfill its varied mandate.

"Capacity is a major issue. There's the fallout from program review and energy issues are now more central to the government agenda, and there are no additional resources to deal with them," says CETC director Frank Campbell. "We can be proud of the work we're doing but we're under stress. We don't want to do too much work on a cost recovery basis because that would result in R&D that's too short term."

CETC conducts R&D on everything from CO2 recovery to emerging and renewable technologies through a blend of in-house activity and project funding, much of which is repayable based on the commercial success of a product or process.

Mike Burke, CETC's technology manager for the Advanced Combustion Technologies (ACT) group, the Federal Industrial Boiler Program (FIBP) and the Industry Energy Research and Development Program, oversees most of the cost recovery programs, which employ about 70 people out of the Centre's total staff of 180. He agrees that more money for replacement infrastructure is essential if CETC is to maintain and enhance the level of work that its clients have come to rely on.

"We're generally acknowledged as being the premier combustion research facility in Canada and we have pilot-scale facilities that are second to none," he asserts. "But the Centre is 32 years old and all the controls and data collection should be computerized. The R&D is still very good (but) the single biggest threat to our continued relevance as a state-of-the-art R&D performer is aging infrastructure. We're certainly stating our case that funds are required here."

Burke says that nearly half of the ACT's annual budget this year will come through cost recovery, allowing staff to continue innovative work that would otherwise be impossible.

While CETC conducts the bulks of its R&D on technologies of the future, many of its activities are still focused on more traditional sectors, such as improving the efficiency of boilers, diesel engines and power plants. Its CO2 Capture Sequestration Program, for instance, is working towards increasing the concentration of CO2 stemming from the burning of fuel to a point where it can be compressed and reused or disposed of underground. Burke says that, as the demand for electricity increases, so will the use of fossil fuels to produce that energy, making this R&D even more critical.

"The real attraction for this is utilities. This kind of technology would lend itself to be retrofitable to existing coal-fired plants," he says, adding that coal-fired plants are typically used by utilities to handle peak power demand. "For our combustion laboratory, we have the goal of a zero-emission power plant within the next 10 to 12 years. When we say that, people are looking at coal. Because we're going to have to find a way to use coal in an environmentally acceptable manner, which is zero emissions.... We're forecasting so much demand for electricity that the only way to get there is to use fossil fuels, including gas and oil."

For programs like the FIBP, cost-recovery allows CETC to maintain a high level of service, facilities and advice to owners and operators of heating and cooling systems in buildings, increasing efficiency and reducing nitrous oxide emissions. The FIBP is a fee-for-service program entirely funded through cost-recovery.

ASSISTING BUSINESS

On the funding side, CETC's flagship program is the Industry Energy Research and Development Program (IERD), which aims to increase the efficiency of energy use in industry as well as encouraging use of technology developed through the program. IERD pays up to 50% of allowable costs for approved projects and has $4-5 million annually at its disposal. IERD also places a strong emphasis on smaller firms, with 30 of the approximately 40 contracts now being funded in collaboration with small and medium sized businesses. All approved projects must involve a significant amount of development work and have objectives that mesh with the federal government's goals for energy efficiency and sustainable development. CETC also offers assistance through programs focused on transportation and renewable energies.

Recent initiatives in support of climate change have added to CETC's list of offerings, including participation in the $56-million Technology Early Action Measures (TEAM) program.

Jointly administered by Environment Canada, Industry Canada and Natural Resources Canada, TEAM assists industry-led technology projects that lead to significant greenhouse gas emission reductions, with approximately $10 million annually flowing through CETC. The TEAM program fills a crucial gap for getting technologies into the marketplace by helping pay for the demonstration of energy R&D, but Burke says that even more funding is required.

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