Univ of Calgary positioned to take leadership with bold energy research strategy

ISEEE seeks $521 million to implement plan

The Univ of Calgary is seeking additional funding for an ambitious $521-million R&D strategy for energy and the environment and the training of a whole new generation of researchers and skilled professionals. Executed by the U of C's Institute for Sustainable Energy, Environment & Economy (ISEEE), the plan directly addresses one of the three pillars of the U of C's research strategy and could establish the university as Canada's national centre for energy research.

The strategy calls for the construction of a new building and funding from all three levels of government. With $60 million committed to date, the success of the venture is in the hands of several layers of government. Applications have already been submitted for an additional $300 million in funding, with sources for the final $160 million still to be identified. When broken down by source, 43% of funding will come from the provincial government, followed by 31% from the federal government (and to a lesser extent industry) and the remaining 26% from university sources.

ISEEE's plan has been discussed internally, as well as with other institutions, key private sector players in the Alberta energy sector and politicians of all stripes. Its objectives are multiple and underpinned by a research program with four central thrusts Those thrusts and the anticipated amounts of associated funding: sustainable development technologies (alternative energy) ($130 million), advanced recovery and upgrading ($76 million), water management ($63 million) and other carbon management ($24 million).

"We're moving beyond the traditional model of doing research and moving up the 'S' curve," says Dr Robert Mansell, ISEEE's managing director and special advisor to the university president. "We have faculty researchers, post docs, graduate students and industry people all working on the same mission. It's an integrative model and the key thrust is integration at all levels."

BUILDING AN INTEGRATIVE MODEL

In addition to working with industry, integration means alignment with federal and provincial strategies and input into formulating a future energy strategy for the country. Natural Resources Canada is currently developing a Sustainable Energy Science and Technology Strategy, funded with $200 million provided in the March/05 federal Budget (R$, March 9/05). Mansell says ISEEE is "trying to decipher how we fit into that", but should know more when an NRCan expert panel reports this spring.

A cornerstone of the ISEEE is its training component. The Institute plans to create spaces for an additional 1,000 students in the areas of energy and the environment and has applied to the Alberta Ministry of Advanced Education (MAE) for funding. If approved, the government would provide $48.4 million over five years, with an additional $16.8 million derived from tuition fees. The application to MAE has been made through MOUs with the Univ of Alberta, Univ of Lethbridge and the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology to secure funding for 2,500 new student spaces.

"Part of what is required is HQP. We're already doing a lot of these things but we want to ramp them up," says Mansell. "Within these programs at the U of C, there's a ten-to-one acceptance ratio (of student applications) so the need is there. With the acceleration of retirements in the energy and environment sector in universities, the private sector and government, there will be no problem placing all these new graduates and professors. We need these people to seize the huge new opportunities that are coming ... There are challenges at every stage in these fields that, if we get it right, there are huge benefits. Canada has the largest concentration of energy resources in the world."

ISEEE is requesting $130 million from the Sustainable Development Technologies (SDT) initiative, a joint federal and Alberta program. While the source of Alberta's share is fairly clear, it's uncertain how the federal money will be delivered since it will likely come from the budgets of several departments.

"We have lots of support for the model but the funding is not finalized ," says Mansell. "We expect most funding decisions will be made in the first half of 2006."

Mansell says it's critical that those decisions are made quickly in order to ensure long-term success. He points to investments made 20 years ago under the Oil Sands Technology and Research Authority (AOSTRA). That led to the development of the oil sands and the huge return on investment that is now being realized.

"We want to make Alberta a world leader in carbon innovation and Canada a leader in energy innovation," Mansell told delegates at the InnoWest conference last November.

For the final $160 million, ISEEE will be holding two major workshops in March and June to develop new strategic initiatives.

"So much is driven by opportunities and funding organization deadlines. We're building toward these but we have to be ready when opportunity knocks," says Mansell. "There could be new programs related to Kyoto or climate change and we're trying to systematically work through a matrix and then we'll pick our areas and funding opportunity combinations. The challenge is, how do we get governments to understand and respond in good time? We're looking 10 years down the road and that requires technology foresight."

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