What's New at the Academy

Bayer Award

We are pleased to report that the Trottier Energy Futures Project was recently cited by Bayer Canada as part of Bayer’s 150th anniversary saluting Canadian innovators who embody Bayer’s philosophy: Science for a Better Life, under the renewable energy category.  The award will be given will be given at a special ceremony on Tuesday, May 28 in Toronto.  

Task Force on Engineering in Canada's Northern Oceans  

At the 9 April Board meeting, a new Task Force on Engineering in Canada's Northern Oceans was approved. It will be led by Ian Jordaan, Ken Croasdale, Bob Frederking and Peter Noble. They mean to study the development and transportation of resources, accounting for sovereignty, understanding & protecting the environment, and human safety. The study aims to recognize the potential effects of climate change on developments and engineering design, and identify technology gaps and objectives to address them.

Jim Stanford and Frank McKenna are key note speakers at the Energy Conference in Sarnia  

April 3, 2013 – Sarnia, Ontario, Canada – Two keynote speakers at the "Bitumen – Adding Value: Canada’s National Opportunity" Conference in Sarnia on May 21/22 will define what is meant by adding value to the entire chain of the resource industry, both upstream and downstream.

Jim Stanford, CAW Economist, and frequent commentator on TVO's Agenda and the CBC National News, will speak about the need to supply the huge demand for materials as inputs into the energy industry, rather than relying mainly on imported products. “There has been no conscious effort by policy-makers to connect Canadian manufacturing capability to the upstream or downstream requirements of the resource industry,” Mr. Stanford noted. He will propose methods to enhance the positive industrial spin-offs from resource projects through the rest of the economy.

The Honourable Frank McKenna, former Premier of New Brunswick, Canadian Ambassador to the United States, and now Deputy Chair of the TD Bank Group, has been an early advocate and vocal champion for a national pipeline network which he considers to be an essential infrastructure project that “would be an extraordinary catalyst for economic growth and a powerful symbol of Canadian unity.” In his view, this is the kind of pan-Canadian project that can help make a material difference in our lives, and future generations.  He will argue that now is the time to come together – all levels of government and interested stakeholders – to find the best way to unlock the full potential of our energy resources.

Dr. Richard Marceau, President of the Canadian Academy of Engineering (the major sponsor of the Conference), noted that the oil sands should be seen as a system, starting from the first exploration of a lease area, the initial mine or site development, the recovery of the bitumen, and its transportation to a facility to produce upgraded products. “Value can be added across the entire chain of this undeveloped industry,” Dr. Marceau stressed.

Dr. Walter Petryschuk, former Director General of the National Research Council of Canada’s Integrated Manufacturing Technology’s Institute (London), adds “Canada’s oil sands are an engine, however fitful and cyclic, of our nation’s economic growth and wealth generation. How can we not take advantage of this significant attribute for the benefit of all Canadians?”

Contact:

Walter F. Petryschuk, Conference Chair
519 542-5137
walter.petryschuk@sympatico.ca
Associate, Bowman Centre
Member, The Canadian Academy of Engineering’s Energy Task Force

TROTTIER ENERGY FUTURES PROJECT PAPER

The TEFP, a joint venture between the David Suzuki Foundation, the Trottier Family Foundation and the CAE have recently produced a paper on An Inventory of Low-Carbon Energy for Canada.

MONTREAL SECTION MEETING

André Bazergui, President of the new Montreal Section of the CAE reports that the Section had a very successful meeting on March 11, 2013 at École Polytechnique.

CAE President Richard Marceau, and FCAEs Christophe Guy, Yves Beauchamp and Robin Drew worked closely with André for the creation of the Montreal Section. At the meeting Yves Beauchamp, Lorne Trottier, Ron Crotogino and Toby Gilsig were elected officers of the Section.

The gathering of 50 Fellows were provided with an excellent and very inspiring presentation of the Trottier Energy Futures Project by Lorne Trottier and Ralph Torrie.

Photos

CONFERENCE: Bitumen-Adding Value - Canada's National Opportunity

Energy experts from across Canada will meet in Sarnia on May 21 and 22, 2013, for the "Bitumen – Adding Value: Canada’s National Opportunity" Conference (www.canadabitumen.com). These leaders will discuss the many considerations in adding value to Canada’s bitumen, rather than exporting an unprocessed raw resource.

Keynote speaker Frank McKenna, Deputy Chair of the TD Bank Group and former Premier of New Brunswick, heads up the conference’s slate of speakers.

The conference is being organized by Alberta and Ontario organizations, under the auspices of the Canadian Academy of Engineering.  Dr. Richard Marceau, President of the Academy, stated the focus of this conference will be on capturing full value from the bitumen from the Alberta Oil Sands. “The full value of Canada’s raw energy resources can only be captured through upgrading. And by strengthening Canada’s economy, our ability to invest in highly creative technologies which will drive down Canada’s carbon footprint will also be strengthened,” he said.  Alberta Innovates, Energy and Environment Solutions, is co-sponsoring the conference. Dr. Eddy Isaacs, CEO, stated, “Alberta and Ontario working with other provinces have committed to value-added collaboration initiatives, and the progress made will be presented at the conference.”

Long-time Sarnia resident Dr. Clem Bowman, who received the 2008 Global Energy International Prize, noted that, “Achieving full value from the Alberta Oil Sands is a ‘big project’ challenge for Canada, a challenge that can only be met by the visionary and collaborative efforts of both the public and private sectors. It is not a job for a single company or a single government agency.”

Lambton County, where the village of Oil Springs preserves the site of the first commercial oil well in North America, is the 1858 birth place of the Canadian petroleum industry.  George Mallay, General Manager of the Sarnia-Lambton Economic Partnership, noted that the value-added Canadian petrochemical industry was launched here.  As an example, the creation of Polymer Corporation, which produced synthetic rubber during World War II, was achieved through the collaboration of private sector firms and the federal government. “Sarnia-Lambton has the people, the physical resources, and the innovative spirit to make the next big leap forward,” said Mr. Mallay.

The need for new and environmentally advanced technology will be highlighted at the conference. “Western University Sarnia-Lambton Research Park is ready to contribute to this goal,” said Dr. Katherine Albion, Manager, Bowman Centre for Technology Commercialization.

PRESIDENT MARCEAU APPEARS BEFORE COMMITTEE

On 7 February 2013, CAE President Richard Marceau appeared before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology. The Committee was examining the state of engineering in Canada.

Presentation

TROTTIER ENERGY FUTURES PROJECT PAPER PROJECT

The TEFP, a joint venture between the David Suzuki Foundation, the Trottier Family Foundation and the CAE have recently produced a review paper on National Scenarios for Low-Carbon Energy Futures.  The paper may be found at the following link http://www.trottierenergyfutures.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Low-Carbon-Energy-Futures.pdf.

LATEST NEWSLETTER

Winter 2013

INAE-CAE CLEAN COAL TECHNOLOGIES WORKSHOP

The Canadian Academy of Engineering (CAE) and the Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE) organized a Joint Conference on Clean Coal Technologies in New Delhi on December 4, 2012. This was in due recognition of the fact that Canada and India are endowed with a variety of energy sources, and coal is a dominant source for power generation in both countries. The CAE delegation was led by Past President Prof. Ravi Ravindran. The INAE delegation leader was Vice President (Academic, Professional and International Affairs) Prof. K.V. Raghavan. The conference was chaired by INAE President Dr. Baldev Raj. The Canadian High Commission was represented by First Secretary Ms. Ivy Lerner-Frank, who gave an update on many Canada-India initiatives, and promised support for this conference and possible joint endeavours. The CAE Team consisted of Prof. Rajender Gupta (Coal Utilization and its Impact on Clean Coal Technologies), Prof. Prabir Basu (Fluidized Bed Combustion and Biomass Cofiring), Prof. Sushanta Mitra (Bioconversion) and Prof. Subhir Bhattacharya (Water Intensity of Coal Based Power and Water Footprint). The Indian Team covered topics including Coal Beneficiation, Coal Research in India, Liquefaction, and Precumbustion and Postcombustion Carbon Dioxide Capture.

There was a consensus on the need for reducing GHG emissions and Coal Upgrading to reduce emissions and increasing efficiency. Potential inter-academy initiatives include collaborative research partnerships with possible focus on characterization of coals in different regions of Canada and India, development of water intensity and water footprint data for clean coal technologies, bioconversion options for coal processing and future joint CAE-INAE conferences (annual or biennial). It was an excellent inter-academy conference with high quality presentations, stimulating discussion and potential for further interaction with attendant benefits to Canada and India.

Conference Report Preprint (23 MB) 

OUR 25th ANNIVERSARY

Presentation

CANADA: WINNING AS A SUSTAINABLE ENERGY SUPERPOWER

The latest Academy publication, entitled “Canada: Winning as a Sustainable Energy Superpower”, is now available electronically and consists of two volumes (i.e., Volume I provides a summary of the details found in Volume II). This book has been prepared by a group of volunteers who are members of the Academy’s Energy Pathways Task Force, in close collaboration with Dr. Clement Bowman and Dr. Richard J. Marceau.

Volume I          High resolution pdf (2 MB)              Low resolution pdf (1.6 MB)

An overview of the challenge and the opportunities. A review of 12 past Canadian big projects that created the nation, and a proposal for 9 new big projects for implementation in the first half of the 21st Century.

Hard Copy Books

A hard copy edition of the book is available for a fee from the Canadian Academy of Engineering. Click here for the order form.

Globe & Mail Insert

Special eight page Sustainable Energy insert to the Globe & Mail, Friday, May 25, 2012 (7 MB)

A STATEMENT OF COMMON UNDERSTANDING

In 2011 the presidents of the Council of Canadian Academies, the Royal Society of Canada, the Canadian Academy of Engineering and the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences worked cooperatively to develop a joint Statement of Common Understanding to guide their future collaboration.

Click here to read the statement

NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Michael A. Ball, FCAE, FEC, P.Eng., who had been the Executive Director of the Canadian Academy of Engineering (CAE) since 2006, stepped down from his position on December 31, 2011. The Academy’s new Executive Director is Kevin Goheen, Ph.D., P.Eng., who assumed his duties on January 1, 2012.

News Release

PROJECTS

ENERGY PATHWAYS PROJECT

Clean energy innovation is an issue that is of critical importance for the future well-being and prosperity of Canadians.  In March 2002, responding to the challenges being faced by the global energy industry, including regional instability, depleting conventional resources, climate change and price volatility, the Canadian Academy of Engineering (CAE) released a study titled, Energy and Climate Change - A Canadian Engineering Perspective. It concluded that, "A long-term, sustainable energy strategy needs to be developed, which will necessarily require a larger choice of energy sources and technologies than [are] presently available".  The Report noted that the CAE could play an important role in the assessment of technologies that are already available or entirely new energy technologies.

With support from a group of eight Sponsors: Alberta Research Council; Natural Resources Canada; Suncor Energy; Petro-Canada; EnCana; AECL; Hatch; and the Alberta Energy Research Institute; a Task Force was formed under the leadership of  Dr. Clem Bowman, FCAE, to continue the work of the Academy on this subject. The specific goal of the Energy Pathways Task Force was to define the barriers that are preventing the development of economic and environmentally acceptable energy sources and carriers in Canada and to identify the technologies that can overcome these barriers. The focus of this project has been on technology options that would permit Canada to achieve its greenhouse gas (GHG) emission targets, while continuing to provide an adequate supply of energy, at competitive rates, to meet the growing demand for energy.

Energy Pathways Project webpage

TROTTIER ENERGY FUTURES PROJECT

Engineers, environmentalists and philanthropists are joining forces to develop solutions for Canada’s energy future. The Canadian Academy of Engineering, the David Suzuki Foundation and the Trottier Family Foundation have launched the “Trottier Energy Futures Project”, named for entrepreneur, engineer and philanthropist Lorne Trottier, whose family foundation is providing major funding for a multi-year project.

Trottier Energy Futures Project website 

Dale Marshall (David Suzuki Foundation), Michael Charles (The Canadian Academy of Engineering), Lorne Trottier (Trottier Family Foundation) and Tom Gouldsborough announced on September 15, 2010 in Montreal the launch of the Trottier Energy Futures Project, a unique partnership with the goal of helping to build a clean and sustainable energy future for Canada.