InnoTech Alberta, a research affiliate of Alberta Innovates, was created by the Government of Alberta to support innovation and commercialization in the province. As a leading research and technology organization, InnoTech Alberta helps businesses and industries tackle global challenges by reducing environmental impacts, improving operations, and bringing new technologies and products to market. Doug Podmore, Director of Business Development, shares insights into InnoTech Alberta’s legacy.
InnoTech Alberta focuses on bridging the gap between early-stage research and commercial application. Can you share a recent example of a project that successfully transitioned from research to market-ready technology?
We continually adapt to offer the latest expertise and solutions to help industry unlock the challenges they’re facing. As you know, artificial intelligence is in the news today with products like Chat GPT for consumers, but in the industrial realm, artificial intelligence is used in a different way. An example of something we’ve taken from the research realm to market-readiness is our Digital Services in Artificial Intelligence (AI) Vision, an application that uses machine learning to scan, monitor and evaluate the quality of Oriented Strand Board (OSB) panels, the same ones used in housing construction.
During the OSB production process, thousands of wood strands are arranged in layers and bound together with resin to form a panel. Industrial or mass production requires the monitoring of that process to achieve optimum panel quality. The AI model we developed solved the challenges experienced during OSB production, providing valuable information to industry operators for an improved process and quality optimization while yielding significant cost savings.
This technology is deployed today, is being used as an integrated part of the quality control standards in OSB production and stands as a great example of our ability to move research into market-ready solutions.
How does InnoTech Alberta bridge the gap between groundbreaking research and practical applications to drive innovation and economic growth in Alberta’s key industries?
Many promising technologies struggle to move from concept to commercial use. We’re fortunate to have some of the most brilliant minds and game-changing facilities anywhere on the planet to help bridge that gap. It’s a combination of these two things plus an excellent track record that brings us a never-ending stream of challenges to solve.
We work with companies, researchers and even governments to refine, test and scale up new technologies or processes using our specialized expertise and unique facilities. Whether it’s enabling cost and efficiency improvements to CO2 capture technologies at the Alberta Carbon
Conversion Technology Centre (ACCTC) in Calgary, or developing carbon fiber from Alberta bitumen, we help innovators overcome technical roadblocks to better enable them to bring new solutions to market—driving economic growth and solving industry challenges along the way. We thrive on the challenge of tackling just about any problem and finding a solution.
Reflecting on InnoTech Alberta’s history, what are some of the most memorable achievements you are proud of?
Our teams have accomplished so much over the years, but something that is widely in use today is a process called Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD). SAGD revolutionized in-situ recovery of bitumen and heavy oil in Alberta. Karl Clark Road within the Edmonton Research Park is named after Dr. Karl Clark who originated the hot water process for bitumen extraction from mined oil sand. Both SAGD and bitumen extraction from mined oil sand processes have been the major economic drivers for the province for many years, and they continue to be researched and improved upon today.
InnoTech is also looking at other uses of bitumen in addition to refining. I mentioned carbon fiber earlier but to expand on that, we’re building a carbon fiber facility to refine the process of using bitumen as a reliable feedstock for carbon fiber production. We hope to have the facility in operation by fall of 2025.
I also mentioned the ACCTC in Calgary, which came into existence during the XPRIZE Foundation Competition, where innovators with genius ideas for using captured CO2 for products such as soap or vodka competed for funding support. The ACCTC is only one of two facilities in North America. We are thrilled that Alberta companies have access to test CO2 capture technologies as well as discovering new ways to utilize the captured carbon.
Hydrogen fuel is an emerging opportunity where there are still many gaps on the way to commercialization. That is why we are part of the Hydrogen Centre of Excellence, which looks to identify and solve the many challenges that prevent Hydrogen from becoming a commonly used fuel source. InnoTech discovered that Hydrogen quality was an issue, leading us to create the Hydrogen Quality Centre to analyze hydrogen and avoid costly damage to fuel cells.
Finally, the partnerships we have developed, and our ability to find solutions to otherwise impossible challenges, stand as a testament to the capabilities we have as an organization. Consortiums like MARIOS (Material and Reliability in the Oil Sands) and AACI (AOSTRA-ARC-Core Industry), managed by InnoTech Alberta, help industry operators pursue collaborative solutions to shared challenges, saving both time and money.
What are your aspirations for the organization’s future in driving technological innovation?
This one is pretty simple. We’ve been here for Alberta since 1921 and will continue to serve the province’s needs. We look forward to navigating the unknown in areas where industry doesn’t have the expertise, knowledge or time to invest, all with the goal of helping maintain Alberta’s prosperity.