Alberta’s Oil Sands Are Driving the Future of Cleantech
22 Apr 2021
news
For years, Alberta’s oil sands have been a major driver of the Canadian economy. But with the collapse in global crude oil demand as a result of the pandemic, key players in the region are looking for new opportunities for Alberta’s traditional resources.
Alberta Innovates, the province’s innovation engine, is responsible for the Bitumen Beyond Combustion (BBC) program, which aims to find alternative applications for Alberta’s massive stores of bitumen. The need for diverse applications of bitumen has taken on new urgency with the growing popularity of electric vehicles and their impact on oil demand.
“Diverting bitumen to new materials could reduce emissions, increase economic value, create jobs, diversify the economy, and perhaps even birth new industries,” explains Bryan Helfenbaum, Executive Director of Advanced Hydrocarbons in the Clean Resources division of Alberta Innovates.