AITF - Alberta Innovates – Technology Futures
Alberta Innovates – Technology Futures (AITF, formerly Alberta Research Council) was formed in 1921
as the main research arm of the Alberta provincial government in Canada. The organization has more than 600 staff located in three main centres in Alberta: Edmonton (main headquarters), Calgary and Vegreville. AITF hosts laboratories, office space and support facilities for research in energy, advanced materials and engineering, and in biosciences.
Within the energy sector, the main focus is on improving the production of Alberta’s energy resources (oil, gas, heavy oil and oils sands), and reducing CO2 emissions in a province
that relies on coal for power generation and is home to energy production plants (gas plants, refineries, bitumen upgraders), chemical and petrochemical industry, and cement production. The Carbon and Energy Management Business Unit of AITF, whose staff will be involved in the CO2CARE project, has contributed in the past in a number of CO2 storage projects including:
- Enhanced Coalbed Methane recovery (ECBM) micro-pilots and pilots in Alberta and China (coordinating the projects, and being responsible for the monitoring and modelling aspects);
- Pembina-Cardium CO2-EOR pilot in Alberta (conducting monitoring and modelling work);
- The Weyburn IEA-GHG CO2 Monitoring project (conducting monitoring and modelling work);
- The Frio project in the US and Otway project in Australia (conducting monitoring and modelling work).
Currently AITF staff is managing and conducting the research associated with the CSLF-recognized HARP project in Alberta (CO2 storage in a deep reefal aquifer), and is involved in other CO2 storage western Canada such as the CSLF-recognized Fort Nelson project.
In addition, AITF staff represents Canada on the Carbon Sequestration Leadership Forum, and represented the provincial regulatory agency on the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission Task Force on CO2 Geological Storage.
The main areas of expertise in AITF in regard to CO2 storage are site selection and characterization, modelling, particularly of geochemical effects, assurance monitoring, and economic evaluation. Cement chemistry and well integrity are new areas in development at AITF.