Finance

Alberta funds $33.7 million for emissions reduction, including hybrid hydro-storage system

Alberta funds $33.7 million for emissions reduction, including hybrid hydro-storage system

The Government of Alberta is investing $33.7 million in 13 projects through Emissions Reduction Alberta’s (ERA) Reshaping Energy Systems funding competition.

These projects, valued at about $88 million in public and private investment, focus on technologies that will reduce emissions and contribute to a more flexible and sustainable energy grid. All funding is sourced from the Government of Alberta’s Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction (TIER) fund.

Included among these projects is one from Atlas Power Technologies Inc. that involves combining a supercapacitor-based energy storage system (SC-ESS) with a hydroelectric generating facility in Alberta, to provide fast responding reliability services to Alberta’s power grid. ERA funding is $6,500,000, with a total project cost of $14,102,261.

Atlas said this project is a collaboration with TransAlta Corporation. The grant will support a hybridized hydroelectric project using Atlas’s supercapacitor energy storage system (Hybrid Hydro SC-ESS) and will demonstrate how supercapacitor technology can address the urgent reliability needs of Alberta’s electricity grid. The hybrid facility will augment an existing hydro facility to enable it to provide fast frequency response (FFR), which responds in milliseconds to sudden drops in grid frequency caused by unexpected imbalances between electrical generation and consumption. A lack of sufficient frequency response in the system puts Albertans at an increased risk of being suddenly disconnected from the grid in emergencies. The Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) has identified frequency stability as an urgent priority for Alberta’s electrical system. Fast-acting, non-emitting FFR technologies like Atlas’s SC-ESS are a critical solution to reliability concerns in Alberta, and this project will address this urgent market need.

“We are excited to collaborate with TransAlta Corporation, one of the largest independent power producers in Canada, and ERA, whose mandate is to reduce emissions and grow Alberta’s economy. This opportunity to accelerate the development and adoption of an innovative technology solution is a demonstration of shared vision, expertise, and a commitment to pioneering new solutions,” said Mitchell Miller, chief executive officer and founder, Atlas Power.

Each project chosen for funding will be piloted, demonstrated or deployed within Alberta. This significant investment will advance technologies focused on the transport, distribution, storage and optimization of energy use to reduce emissions; create economic opportunities; and enable a more resilient, efficient and reliable energy system. If successful, these projects are estimated to deliver annual GHG reductions of 119,000 tonnes, cumulative reductions of almost 580,000 by 2030 and 2.7 million tonnes by 2050. This funding is also expected to create 830 person-year jobs in Alberta and have a $125 million GDP impact in the province by 2025.

“This investment supports the modernization of Alberta’s energy systems, allowing us to demonstrate new technologies that will improve the competitiveness and efficiency of Alberta’s energy systems and reduce our emissions,” said Justin Riemer, CEO, Emissions Reduction Alberta.

Other projects chosen include:

AltaLink Investment Limited Partnership, evaluating the implementation of a first-of-kind large-scale transmission battery energy storage system to the Alberta electric grid.

Cable Coatings Limited T/A AssetCool, applying a cooling coating to overhead electric power lines that reduces the lines’ temperature, increases their energy capacity, and avoids the need for line upgrades or expansions.

Crux Operations Control Management Limited, piloting two software products that autonomously adjust oil and gas pipeline operations to optimize energy usage.

CRWN.ai, using ultrasonic sensors and artificial intelligence to predict failures on the most remote electric power lines before they happen.

Graph Energy Inc., boosting fuel efficiency and lowering GHG emissions with graphene ultracapacitor energy storage for diesel and natural gas generators.

HTEC Hydrogen Technology & Energy Corporation, developing a high-capacity hydrogen fueling station in Crossfield, AB, enabling an initial fleet of over 25 hydrogen fuel cell trucks to serve southern and central Alberta.

Landmark Group of Companies, connecting a group of highly energy-efficient solar + storage homes to become a virtual power plant that will improve the resiliency of the electrical grid and enable the wide adoption of net zero homes.

Onboard Dynamics, launching a system for capturing and recovering natural gas during pipeline maintenance operations, thereby preventing methane releases into the atmosphere and providing a sustainable alternative to the conventional methods of venting and flaring natural gas.

Telsec Property Corporation, combining geoexchange district heating, solar PV, and intelligent controls to decarbonize multi-family homes.

TERIC Power Ltd. – eLab Battery Project (Keyera), installing a 10 MW battery technology at Keyera’s Alberta EnviroFuels plant in Edmonton to provide energy storage and reliability benefits to both the industrial facility and the Alberta grid.

TERIC Power Ltd. – Fluiditi Battery Storage Project, delivering cost competitive and reliable power with reduced GHG emissions, through time-shifting renewable energy generation, and providing grid operating services to the Alberta Electric System Operator.

X-energy Canada, conducting an initial feasibility study regarding the potential benefits of deploying a small modular nuclear reactor at a repurposed fossil fuel power plant site.