Contributors: Keren Perla, Ailsa Popilian

Driving competitiveness as markets shift

In the first part of this series, we made the case that in today’s landscape diversification into low-carbon opportunities is a no regret move for Alberta and identified three categories of opportunity where Alberta has a potential edge: clean energy enablers, exportable business solutions, and low-emission product plays.

But when it comes to markets right now two things are clear: the global race to form value chains for these emerging opportunities is underway, and bumpy market conditions are very much a reality. The economic race is heating up and while there’s points to be won, race conditions matter. Policy shifts, trade alliances, and investor confidence are all shaping the track ahead.

The U.S. Inflation Reduction Act spurred $132 billion in clean energy investments, but threats of rolling back or revoking incentives have already led to $15.5 billion in cancelled projects this year, and capital may start racing to other jurisdictions willing to fill the gap.

Canada is eyeing new trade deals beyond its usual teammate south of the border. The 2025 defence and trade pact with the EU signals a push to diversify, while Ottawa positions the nation as a strategic supplier of critical minerals. As Canada looks outwards, others are looking inwards. China’s tightening grip on critical mineral exports shows how fast trade winds can shift, even as calls grow for diplomatic negotiations to deepen ties.

The One Canadian Economy Act is laying the track for emerging national priorities like energy infrastructure, critical minerals processing, and hydrogen hubs to name a few. But these long-term commitments must co-exist with short-term uncertainty. As necessity is the mother of invention, could opportunity lie in the midst of this tension? With 16 opportunities at play, will Alberta get in the race or watch from the sidelines?

It bears repeating that global low-carbon investment reached a record 2.1 trillion USD last year and is set to increase by $100 billion this year alone. As part of this study, we looked at the market projections for the 16 sectors and industries outlined below. Together, they offer a glimpse of where momentum is building and a view of something bigger: how and where Alberta could compete in the global economy through to 2035.

“To compete Alberta needs to be locally minded, globally ambitious, laser-focused, and ready to put the pedal to the metal”

Getting on Track

We can think of Alberta’s ability to compete, and win, in emerging low-carbon opportunities like Formula 1. Everyone knows the big name teams like Ferrari because they’re consistently on the podium, and in Alberta, the biggest industries take pole position. But every team is there to compete, and those racing for “best of the rest” can reap real financial rewards, score points, and climb up the standings.

That’s the play for emerging sectors too. Some are already pulling ahead in their class and others are gearing up to make their move. But the decade ahead means running at least 10 long laps around the sun — that takes long-term vision and looking beyond the next stretch. Given the runway to develop these opportunities, Alberta can’t idle in the pit lane.

While market potential does not guarantee market share, it does give us a way of sizing up the  track and the scale of the opportunities in the decade ahead. The 16 opportunities are sorted into three categories by potential market demand:

• High: >$25B annually by 2035

• Medium: $1–25B

• Low: <$1B

Alberta’s low-carbon, resource-based opportunities can be assessed through multiple lenses, and our study offers ways to do just that. And while scale matters, it’s not the whole story. Even sectors in the “mid-pack” can create jobs, drive investment, and strengthen Alberta’s standings in the low-carbon economy. On top of this are spin-off benefits like revenue and energy security or reduced energy bills which are important factors not captured in the projections.

Zooming in

The market potential of 16 low-emission resource-based opportunities is outlined in the tables below and grouped into three categories segmented by market focus: provincial (Alberta market potential), North America, and global.

Clean energy enablers

Clean energy enablers can play an important role in decarbonizing industrial activity and meeting rising electricity demand across the province. While their markets are local, their impact is system-wide. Like the backbone of a high-performance team, these can form the foundation for Alberta’s broader economic and emissions-reduction opportunities — one of the reasons why the Lab launched Alberta’s Electricity Future as an innovation challenge.

With Alberta’s growing interest in data centres and AI, alternative fuels, and broader decarbonization, clean energy enablers underpin nearly every emerging sector while also being drivers for Alberta’s economic engine.

They also enable industrial users to reduce their emissions, which could increase the value of Alberta’s exports in markets with carbon tariffs or carbon border adjustment mechanisms, or where investors, lenders, insurers or consumers pay attention to embedded emissions.

Strategic clean energy projects can attract new industry to a region looking for accessible low-emission power, and customers need a power system that encourages innovation to minimize the rising cost of electricity.

Zooming out

Alberta has serious potential to compete in international markets as outlined below. These include business opportunities abroad where Alberta companies bring world-class expertise in resource-based technologies seeing rising demand, and product export opportunities that tap into high-growth sectors and integrate into global supply chains.

Business opportunities abroad: CCS tech/services export

With Alberta’s increasing reliance on CCS for large-scale decarbonization in its heavy-emitting industries, there’s more to be seized upon than capturing and storing carbon dioxide underground. Precisely because of this decarbonization potential, the Energy Futures Lab has supported the ecosystem since 2016 to develop the conditions needed for projects to get off the ground. This includes: advocacy for a tax credit that helped inform the 2021 federal Investment Tax Credits and one of four subsequent Clean Economy Investment Tax Credits; convening CCUS expertise to identify barriers and coordinate pathways to progressing projects; and a policy framework to attract investment into CCS and other future-fit hydrocarbon opportunities.

Given the groundwork industry has laid, it’s no surprise that other jurisdictions can benefit from Alberta’s know-how. Additionally, Canada is one of only 13 countries with operational CCS projects and is right behind China and the U.S. in terms of project count. The province boasts technical expertise across subsurface, infrastructure, and pipeline logistics with that expertise being spread across engineering firms and service companies as well as oil & gas producers — a competitive edge in exporting this know-how.

Investment in R&D has paid off with testing facilities like the Carbon Management Centre (CMC) bolstering the province’s credibility and global standing for ‘made-in-Alberta’ solutions. Beyond oil and gas, capturing, storing and sequestering CO₂ is a critical linchpin for steel, cement, chemicals and other heavy-emitters to meet climate targets.

Product export opportunities: minerals and metals production & processing

All eyes are on the critical minerals file at the moment, and Canada has signed onto key alliances to make sure we’re in the race. With interest growing around Canada’s reserves, the next few years will be pivotal to catalyze the opportunities beyond production, and build out a robust and highly-integrated value chain, with midstream processing and refining a priority.

Canada’s alliances with the EU, U.S., Japan, and Australia are positioning Alberta as a trusted, conflict-free supplier in critical minerals and materials supply chains. This translates into export potential; Canada’s (and by extension Alberta’s) high-standards could be a strategic advantage for markets seeking a sustainable and secure supply.

Canada’s potential as a critical minerals powerhouse has been something the Lab has been supporting for years through our work on establishing Canada’s battery value chain. From novel technology extracting Lithium from subsurface brines in Alberta, to refining BC ores, to recovering and repurposing metals and mine waste, the potential is immense. And the power train of this emerging value chain would come from growing the midstream to process raw minerals in-province/in-country. These different production methods can be mutually reinforcing, and Alberta’s expertise in turning raw commodities into refined, high-value products can seamlessly integrate into global supply chains.

The playing field

In the era of ‘nation-building projects’ there’s a tendency to focus only on the front-runners, but this isn’t a winner-takes-all sprint. Alberta’s competitiveness depends on what we choose to enable, harness and accelerate, and the province must play to its strengths.

Being in the race means having the agility to seize emerging opportunities, a chance to score points today, and build position for the bigger wins ahead.

This series, culminating in a final report, will offer multiple ways of gauging these opportunities: market potential, regional fit, competitive advantages, investment alignment, and resilience to policy shifts. While we can’t back every opportunity, we can catalyze those that make the most strategic sense.

To compete Alberta needs to be locally minded, globally ambitious, laser-focused, and ready to put the pedal to the metal.

The post Gearing up to compete: Alberta’s market potential in the decade ahead appeared first on Energy Futures Lab.

Contributors: Keren Perla, Ailsa Popilian

Energy is having a surprisingly unifying moment in the Canadian public discourse. The talk of becoming an “energy superpower” is getting serious and inevitably, Alberta will have skin in the game. In the era of energy co-existence, where traditional and low-carbon solutions develop side-by-side, Alberta’s mix of resources, talent, and infrastructure should put it on the leaderboard.

But while Canada debates the friction points for this national vision, global markets are scouting for who’s ready to compete. In 2024, global low-carbon investment increased 11% to a record 2.1 trillion USD. Across the Pacific, companies in Asia are making multi-billion dollar investments in low-emission energy – including in Canada. Across the Atlantic, the EU is forging clean energy trade deals with jurisdictions around the world. Many of these markets see Alberta as a “growing supplier of both traditional energy and clean technologies”, as recently noted by ambassadors from the EU, the UK, and Germany.

While turbulent US energy and trade policy has created unprecedented market uncertainty, this wake-up call also emboldened the strategic necessity to diversify Canadian trade. And regardless of whether tariffs stick around or not, carbon competitiveness will remain a defining factor going forward – especially for markets prioritizing low-carbon energy.

If Canada wants to compete it needs to play well both at home and away – by streamlining interprovincial trade and expanding its reach east and west. Alberta’s emerging portfolio of low-emission, resource-based industries has immense growth potential, and can offer economic diversification opportunities to meet growing domestic and global interests.

A no-regret move

In today’s landscape, diversification is a no-regret move. It hedges against geopolitical tensions, trade disruptions, and economic turmoil. Putting more eggs into more baskets is just smart policy. It’s about building out industries that match our strengths, and for Alberta this must include fast-growing low-emission industries.

With its strong industrial base and proclivity for energy innovation, Alberta has what it takes to be a real contender. When it comes to future energy competitiveness, how much of this opportunity will the province claim, and how quickly can it act?

To compete – and win – in the new global economy, the province will need to evolve the playbook. As the world reshapes industrial strategies, global value chains are forming and realigning and nations are jostling for supremacy. As a result, there’s an economic imperative to:

• Explore the demand for low-carbon supply chains
• Scale new technologies and support for their related products, services, and expertise
• And, secure market share in sectors with high growth potential.

These moves unlock some of the key ingredients of forward-looking industrial strategy – agility, optionality, and resiliency – but we need more goals in more nets.

That’s why the Energy Futures Lab is digging deeper into Alberta’s resource-based, low-emission opportunities and studying their market potential as part of the future energy system. Through a study, we’re exploring where Alberta is positioned to compete. But seizing these opportunities means looking beyond what’s ‘tried and true’ and leaning into innovation, not simply waiting to be asked to play.

Competitiveness is a matter of regional fit

A number of industries are emerging as promising plays and these fall into three strategic buckets:

Clean Energy Enablers: these are industrial opportunities that not only support emissions reduction, but can also drive regional and rural economic development in key regions across the province and act as jobs creators, including:

• Carbon capture and storage (CCS)
• Hydrogen production
• Direct air capture (DAC)
• Geothermal energy production
• Waste-to-energy
• Solar and wind energy
• Nuclear energy (including SMR)

Business Opportunities Abroad: Alberta-based companies have a long history of industrial innovation and bring world-class expertise in areas that are rising in demand globally. Alberta can export expertise and solutions, as well as products. These include:

• Agricultural technology IP
• CCS technology and services
• Geothermal technology and services

Product Export Opportunities: Other supply chain opportunities exist in industries with high growth potential that leverage Alberta’s industrial base and resource strengths, including:

• Minerals and metals production and processing
• Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF)
• Green chemistry
• Carbon utilization
• Ammonia-as-a-fuel
• Alternative proteins

Many of these industries have already laced up and are beginning to skate, with some really picking up speed while others are still earlier in development. While each offers a viable path to diversification, not every opportunity will be a good match. The key is in knowing how to unlock them; opportunities must align with regional interests and build on existing or transferable skills.

Importantly, the play needs to involve stoking the right opportunities in the right places, because what makes sense in the Peace region may not make sense in the badlands or along the eastern slopes. Given not all actors have the same priorities, it often comes down to the best fit.

The days of telling regions and communities what they should do are behind us, knowing that approach has rarely worked. Pulling in the same direction is less ‘elbows up’, and more ‘all-hands on deck’ to shape what comes next. These efforts are a shared process of discovery: facilitating generative conversations, understanding what matters to communities, and seeing where alignment can be built. It’s also about asking what’s possible here? How do we make it happen? and what does success look like?

The study offers multiple lenses as ways to assess which opportunities are the right fit, highlight where interests converge, and where there’s willingness to catalyze these opportunities. But it will take more than interest. To play to its strengths the province must lean into innovation and take steps to secure its place in emerging global value chains. To this end, the Energy Futures Lab will be working in conjunction with ecosystem actors to align behind the most promising opportunities so they can take their best shot.

Developing robust ecosystems around these promising industries will be key. Having support from both the public and private sector, and built upon a foundation of Indigenous participation and leadership, it can be done.

Making the play

Alberta’s next moves can help or hinder its position in the shifting global energy landscape. Place-based strategies that leverage regional strengths can put it on the scoreboard in more sectors, and on the radar of the scouts.

Canada has the building blocks to be an “energy superpower” but to ‘get it built’ means turning potential into performance. For Alberta, this means aligning strategy with global demand and advancing the emerging low-carbon industries that have a real shot at building long-term economic competitiveness.

Does Alberta have what it takes to catalyze these opportunities and truly be an energy all star? The opportunities are real and the market signals are strong. The economy isn’t waiting. And neither should we.

The post Capturing competitiveness: unlocking Alberta’s low-emission industries appeared first on Energy Futures Lab.

A lot was on the line back in May of 2024. A small conference room on Tsuut’ina lands to the west of Calgary was filled with anticipation. Industry leaders, Indigenous knowledge holders, representatives from Indigenous and non-Indigenous governments, lawyers, policy makers, and energy innovators had gathered, ready to explore the future of Canada’s battery value chain. The conversations ahead were not just about business or policy – they were about relationships, responsibility, and reconciliation. But amidst the nervous energy there were signs of things to come – handshakes, hugs, smiles and welcomes. By the time the workshop wrapped these were flowing freely. Friendships had been deepened, and new connections had been forged.

A Partnership for Meaningful Dialogue

The Energy Futures Lab partnered with the Battery Metals Association of Canada (BMAC) to bring together these diverse voices. The goal? To ensure that as Canada builds its battery industry, Indigenous perspectives and rights are not just considered but are foundational to its development. One of the biggest questions was how to set this up in a good way when so much could go wrong, especially given the history of industry impact on Indigenous Peoples and lands. We knew there was an opportunity and a window to do this well, and through thoughtful design and consultation we established a convening question that could help frame these efforts.

We would ask a diverse set of participants to convene around this question:
How might the battery value chain respond to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Call to Action 92 for Corporate Canada, in light of the legal adoption of UNDRIP, in a way that recognizes the inherent ancestral and Treaty rights of Indigenous peoples in Canada?

A Gathering at Tsuut’ina Nation

A year in the making, the first big step on this journey was a full-day workshop in May, held at the Grey Eagle Resort & Casino on Tsuut’ina Nation. Guided by members of an Indigenous Advisory Circle (IAC), the event was designed to foster open and honest dialogue, knowledge-sharing, and bridge perspectives between Indigenous and industry leaders. Facilitators Pong Leung and Danielle Mitchell created a space where participants could reflect, challenge assumptions, and build understanding together. Tsuut’ina Spiritual Leader Hal Eagletail opened the day with prayer, song, smudge, and his notorious heartfelt humour.

Within the group there was a shared recognition that Canada’s critical minerals sector is at a turning point. The metals and materials needed for batteries are essential to the energy transition, but the industry itself is still developing. This presents a rare opportunity to do things differently and build strong relationships with Indigenous peoples from the start, and to highlight the imperative to address environmental and social impacts across every part of the value chain: mining and mineral extraction, materials processing, manufacturing, all the way through to recycling and circularity.

During the workshop, industry representatives expressed a deep desire to learn. Many were grappling with questions about Indigenous rights, legal frameworks, and the importance of Free, Prior, and Informed Consent. Indigenous leaders, in turn, shared their perspectives on governance, economic participation and reconciliation, and the importance of long-term relationships built on trust and gained deeper knowledge of the emerging battery value chain from the people working to establish it.

One key takeaway became clear: meaningful partnerships are not about checking boxes – they require ongoing dialogue, shared decision-making, and a commitment reconciliation as relationship, an approach that was shared with the group by Indigenous Advisory Circle member Leoni Rivers (Gitxsan) who gave a memorable presentation. For Leoni, it’s important that “We need to start looking at the reconciliation space as developing reconciliation as relationship from an Indigenous worldview within a western worldview”.

“We need to start looking at the reconciliation space as developing reconciliation as relationship from an Indigenous worldview within a western worldview”

She goes on to say that “there was so much diversity in the room, but the balance was towards equity for First Nations and Indigenous Peoples and to me it felt like respect was being reflected. Bringing that balance is what we need to focus on, and shifting from biases to being more objective and respecting each others perspectives because we need to do that even if we agree to disagree. I like to think full circle, including about measures of success, and this provided an opportunity for individuals to tell their stories and share experiences in a way that was culturally safe for us Indigenous Peoples in the room”.

Participants were able to ask each other questions, and get peer feedback on their current work or challenges they face and perceive within their respective industries and communities. As the day wrapped up, they were asked to reflect on what they had learned and to make personal commitments to reconciliation. Some committed to deepening their knowledge, others to changing how they engaged with Indigenous communities in their work. There was a palpable sense that this was just the beginning.

Expanding the Conversation

Building on the momentum from the May workshop, we co-hosted a second session within BMAC’s Charged! Conference on October 29 in Calgary. This session brought these critical discussions to an even wider audience, opening the conference with a conversation on Indigenous partnerships. Setting this tone early ensured that Indigenous voices and perspectives were woven throughout the conference rather than treated as an isolated topic and we saw this in real-time as people began to ask tough questions, and Indigenous perspectives were discussed at length and in depth within other conference sessions.

Building upon the learnings of the first session, seven opportunities and seven conditions for successful partnerships were identified. These were then tested with the nine members of the Indigenous Advisory Circle who helped to refine and define them to shape the design for the second session.

The Charged! session presented these opportunities and conditions to wider audience. The May workshop, while impactful, was a smaller group. This was an opportunity to get a wider cross-section of the value chain to reflect on and consider these. Conference goers were asked to reflect on the opportunities for partnership, but also the barriers to helping them fulfil the conditions for success.

As one of the lead facilitators, Danielle Mitchell (Cree/Métis) recalls “the room fell silent. Looking around, every single person was heads down writing their reflections. That rarely happens in this type of facilitation, and it showed that people were taking this seriously and were genuinely engaged. It was an opportunity to structure conversation, design, and collaboration in a way that centers relationality and that has significant potential to translate into real impact, and a real shift in people’s perspectives on how to work together”.

The industry’s future depends on collaboration, and it was clear that those in the room were ready to take steps toward stronger, more equitable relationships.

“It was an opportunity to structure conversation, design, and collaboration in a way that centers relationality and that has significant potential to translate into real impact, and a real shift in people’s perspectives”

A Path Forward

As this sector continues to grow, we hope that this journey continues, and that we see Indigenous rights and knowledge(s) reflected in and leading decision-making as the value chain continues to form. The commitment to reconciliation must go beyond just words and obligations; it must be reflected in actions, policies, and partnerships that honour shared governance and seven-generation thinking.

These workshops are just one step in a much longer journey. But the connections made, the lessons learned, and the commitments voiced all signal a shift in how the industry approaches its future. The work continues, and we are committed to ensuring these conversations turn into tangible change.

This is how transformation begins, through listening, learning, and walking the path forward together.

Learn more about our work on the establishment of Canada’s critical materials and battery value chain

The post Bridging Industry and Indigenous Perspectives in Establishing Canada’s Battery Value Chain appeared first on Energy Futures Lab.

The 49 Fellows signing on for the two-year program running from January 2025 to December 2026 will face notably strong headwinds to their objective of empowering Canadian businesses and communities to lead and thrive amid shifting energy paradigms. Turbulent domestic and international political situations, threats of tariffs on exports by the incoming US government, polarization, and misinformation are adding to the complexity surrounding urgent decisions and investments required to ensure the stability of Canada’s regional economies in the face of climate change, shifting trade agendas, and growing global energy needs.

“The messiness of this moment requires a complexity savvy approach,” says Alison Cretney, Managing Director of the Energy Futures Lab. “Canada needs to move quickly and decisively while also enabling unprecedented levels of collaboration at a moment of intense polarization. This makes the Energy Futures Lab the ideal partner to lead the creation of solutions that can help Canada navigate more quickly towards a secure and prosperous future that leverages our strengths as energy leaders.” 

The members of the 2025-26 Energy Futures Lab Fellowship are:

• Aaron Foyer – Orennia
• Aidan Bodsworth – MEGlobal Canada ULC
• Alison Thompson – Borealis Geothermal
• Aurelio Zanni – Shell Canada
• Barbra Korol – Peitho Group
• Bill Whitelaw – geoLOGIC Systems
• Brad Nickel – EQUS
• Bronwyn Hyland – Suncor
• Cameron Brown – Global Public Affairs
• Chelsea Donelon – TransAlta
• Chris Brown – Calgary Economic Development
• Christina Kehrig – Alberta’s Industrial Heartland Association
• Christophe Owtrimm – Emissions Reduction Alberta
• Dani Hansen – BMO Capital Markets
• David Ghoris – DMG Events
• Demetria Zinyemba – Independent
• Donald Jantz – Strategic Sustainability Consulting
• Duncan Mundell – AltaML
• Eric Pelletier – Battery Metals Association of Canada
• Ericka Rios – Alberta Innovates
• Gabriela Wilson – ATB
• Geoffrey Tauvette – Canadian Council for Sustainable Aviation Fuels
• Jacob Rao – InnoTech Pioneers Inc.
• Jennifer Young – Independent
• Jolaine Healy – Blood Tribe Employment & Skills Training
• Kari Hyde – Pembina Institute
• Kelty Latos – ConocoPhillips
• Kim Welby – Progressive West Consulting
• Krystal Northey – Canadian Climate Institute
• Lacy Brooke Gielen – Stantec Consulting Ltd.
• Lauretta Pearse – ATCO
• Leoni Rivers – Leoni Rivers Consulting
• Mark Hopkins – Human Venture Leadership
• Martin Boucher – NorQuest College
• Matt Toohey – Modern West Advisory Inc.
• Michael Benson – Canada Energy Regulator
• Michelle Goodkey – Good Synergies
• Morgan Rodwell – Fluor Canada Ltd.
• Nic Raytek – GLOBE Series
• Paola Casillas – Prairies Economic Development Canada
• Patricia Bailey – Pathways Alliance
• Peter Casurella – SouthGrow Regional Initiative
• Rory Wheat – Varme Energy Inc.
• Sascha D’Souza – FortisAlberta Inc.
• Sheila Schindel – Innovate BC
• Sinmi Adeoye-Esene – Daniola
• Suzanne Life-Yeomans – First Nations Women’s Council on Economic Security
• Tristan Walker – Massif Energy
• Winona Lafreniere – Steel River Group
  

This carefully curated cohort of influential leaders includes economic development experts, Indigenous and non-Indigenous business and community leaders, engineers, geologists, researchers, policy specialists, analysts, technology leaders, entrepreneurs, social workers, utilities administrators, communicators, finance professionals, artists, philanthropists and government representatives. Among their ranks are Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal and Governor General’s Medal recipients, several Top 40 Under 40 (and 30 Under 30) honourees, a Toastmasters champion, an Ironman Athlete, and a member of the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency’s Nuclear Innovation 2050 project.

Together, Fellows will serve as an “in-house” representation of Canada’s broader energy system, including leaders and experts from different sectors, regions, cultures and technologies, primarily focused in Western Canada. Utilizing their collective insight, Fellows will anticipate and analyze implications of the shifting global context for Canada’s energy system, and identify windows of opportunity for Lab intervention to influence outcomes aligned with its 2050 vision. They will also lead and shape initiatives that help identify and resolve barriers impeding greater progress in select industrial growth pathways. 

“It’s hard to imagine a more accomplished or diverse group that’s ready to roll up its sleeves in taking on this challenge,” continues Cretney. “Of any group that can guide the inspiring and productive places that Canada’s future energy system may take us, I believe in this one. I can’t wait to see the advancements their work together will generate over the next two years.”

Learn More About the 2025-2026 Fellows

The post The Lab celebrates its 10th anniversary with launch of ‘All-Star’ Fellowship appeared first on Energy Futures Lab.

In both Alberta and across Canada, the energy dialogue is once again fraught with political tensions and polarization. This has only been exacerbated by the complex and shifting geopolitical landscape of a post-pandemic world. Despite the challenges of the day, the Lab is steadfast in our mission to bring people with diverse voices together in a non-partisan way to work together to seek out and implement solutions that make real impact.

Even as our approach is needed more than ever, we’re facing significant hurdles to securing the funding needed to sustain our efforts. The current funding landscape is shifting beneath our feet, and while challenging, we’re drawing on our strengths and community to help us navigate this challenge with hopeful urgency.

A Shifting Funding Landscape

Some of our long-standing funders have been unable to renew their commitments for reasons beyond our control. For instance, we see energy companies pivoting operations away from Canada and refocusing efforts in other jurisdictions, and others restructuring their charitable arms – creating serious  uncertainty for the organizations counting on their ongoing support. While we remain hopeful about the possibility of future collaborations, these changes have created an impending gap in our funding that we must urgently address.

Why Our Work Matters

The Energy Futures lab does something unique as a space where individuals, communities, and organizations come together across divides to co-create solutions. And while we increasingly see organizations speaking about issues in a similar way, it’s not just that we bring people together, but in what we do together and how we design our work to make real, lasting impact when people go back to their daily lives. While we’re known for our impactful convening, our ongoing Innovation Challenges and initiatives are intentionally structured to create durable solutions and drive system-level change and our team is tenaciously working on these day after day.

Alberta is at the heart of Canada’s energy economy and where our role as a convener and innovator is especially critical. We have seen firsthand how depolarizing dialogue and creating shared purpose can lead to transformative outcomes. From fostering Indigenous leadership to driving economic opportunities in emerging industries, we are laying the groundwork for a net-zero future that works for everyone.

The Path Ahead

While the challenges we face are real, so too is our resolve and we’re actively pursuing all avenues to close the looming funding gap from exploring new partnerships to deepening our relationships with existing supporters. However, we can’t do this alone.

This is where you come in. If our mission resonates with you, we invite you to be part of our journey. Whether it’s through direct funding, connecting us with potential partners, or amplifying our work within your networks, your support can make a tangible difference. Together, we can ensure that this critical work continues and grows, creating the conditions for a thriving, sustainable energy future.

A Call to Action

Creating our future energy system is more than just a technical or economic challenge, it impacts all aspects of society. In a time of polarization and uncertainty, we offer a hopeful path forward.

If you share our vision for a future that’s built collaboratively, inclusively, and equitably please reach out. Together, we can overcome these challenges and seize the opportunities that lie ahead.

Now, more than ever, the work we do matters. And with your support, we can ensure it continues. 

Connect with Us

Erin Romanchuk
Deputy Director
eromanchuk@energyfutureslab.com

Donate

The post Bridging the Divide: Navigating Funding Challenges in the Energy Transition appeared first on Energy Futures Lab.

Early October is a good time to catch a shooting star. As the Draconid meteor showers streaked across the night sky, another group of shooting stars were being hailed for their outstanding contributions to sustainability in Canada and Alison Cretney, Managing Director of the Energy Futures Lab, was among them. 

Joining a standout field of honorees, Alison was recently named one of Canada’s Clean50 award recipients for 2025 and we couldn’t be more thrilled for her to receive recognition for her dedication and leadership in accelerating Alberta’s energy transition. From the early days of the Lab her strategic insight, commitment to collaboration, and propensity for bold action have made the Lab a dynamic force for change. Over the past decade under Alison’s guidance, it’s become a trusted hub for multi-stakeholder innovation across the energy sector in Alberta and beyond.

With her driving force at the helm, the Lab hasn’t just kept pace with the energy transition – it’s been instrumental in setting the course and expanding our impact. Not only has the Lab tripled in size, in the last two years alone it’s launched over 35 groundbreaking projects. From roadmaps for Canada’s sustainable aviation fuels and battery metals industries, policy projects on novel markets for hydrocarbon assets, to the modernization of Alberta’s electricity grid, no challenge has been too complex to undertake. The Lab has become a powerful enabler of change, engaging hundreds of energy leaders each year and inspiring thousands of Albertans and Canadians to embrace the opportunities of a low-emission future. 

This was the basis for Alison’s selection as a Canada’s Clean50 honoree. The awards honour 50 exceptional sustainability leaders driving environmental and economic impact across the country. On October 10th, Alison joined other recipients – both past and incoming – at the Clean50 Summit in Toronto to celebrate this accomplishment and connect with other leaders, innovators, and changemakers.

This milestone is not only a reflection of Alison’s contributions to the field, but also builds on the Lab’s history of creating system-level impact. The EFL is no stranger to Clean50 recognition, having received a number of accolades for innovative, high-impact projects driving sustainable change.

A Legacy of Clean50 Awards

2024: C-SAF Roadmap for Sustainable Aviation Fuels
Last year, the EFL was honoured with a joint Clean50 Top Project award for its role in convening stakeholders and publishing the C-SAF Roadmap: Building a feedstocks-to-fuels SAF supply chain in Canada in partnership with C-SAF and the Transition Accelerator. This project provided a shared vision and action plan for advancing sustainable aviation fuels in Canada. The roadmap identified priority actions and investments required to position Canada as a leader in sustainable aviation, shaping the path forward for both industry and government. 

2022: LEAD Project
In 2022, the Lab’s Leveraging our Energy Assets for Diversification (LEAD) initiative earned a Top Project award. This project, in partnership with the Canada West Foundation, united 25 participants from 16 organizations to develop a non-partisan bill focused on repurposing inactive oil and gas infrastructure. LEAD aimed to unlock entrepreneurial opportunities by closing regulatory gaps, encouraging the reuse of brownfield sites, and addressing Alberta’s challenge with orphaned wells. The project exemplified how thoughtful collaboration can align policy, regulation, and innovation to solve complex energy challenges.

2018: Social Innovation in Energy Transition
The Lab’s first Clean50 recognition was in 2018 for championing a social innovation approach to the energy transition and highlighted EFL’s ability to shift polarized energy conversations into collaborative dialogue – harnessing tensions and leading to system-level impact. Recognized for creating a platform for innovation and experimentation and also for reframing narratives about energy in Canada, the early success of what we now call the ‘EFL way’ laid the foundation for many of the current innovation areas we’re actively working in today.

A Bright Future for Energy Innovation

Alison’s recent Clean50 award win is a nod to her personal achievements as an outstanding leader, and also a reflection of the impact the Energy Futures Lab continues to strive for. Having been consistently at the forefront of a system in transition for close to a decade, making impact through co-creation and innovation towards achieving our shared energy future has been a remarkable journey. 

On behalf of the entire Lab team and our community, we extend our heartfelt congratulations to Alison for this well-deserved honour. As we celebrate this win, we are reminded of the opportunities ahead. May each of us be inspired and endeavor to face the road ahead with the same unwavering boldness and zeal.

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The Energy Futures Lab (EFL) is announcing the imminent start of Phase 3 of its Alberta’s Electricity Future (AEF) initiative. This phase of the project marks a significant milestone in the second year of its three year arc: the start of a sprint series focused on solution prototyping.

SOCIAL INNOVATION’S ROLE IN ELECTRICITY SYSTEM MODERNIZATION

While innovation is often thought of as purely technological, innovation in business models, policies, resources and investments, relationships and narratives (known collectively as social innovation) is also required to smooth paths to commercialization and mass adoption of new technologies as well as the transformation of associated policies, processes, and paradigms. What, for the industrial revolution, took centuries, must now be accomplished in a matter of decades in order to avoid the worst effects of climate change, which makes these often-overlooked social dimensions of change management critical. Grid modernization is just one of the innovation areas where the EFL is applying its award-winning expertise in social innovation-focused solution prototyping.

ALBERTA’S ELECTRICITY FUTURE LEADERSHIP COUNCIL

This latest phase introduces a new governance structure to the project: the Alberta’s Electricity Future Leadership Council, that will provide strategic advice to the project delivery team, surface emerging opportunities or barriers to the solutions in development, and identify high-leverage opportunities to explore new solution areas.

The council includes electricity leaders and experts representing diverse perspectives from within the system and regions within the province. Founding members include:

• Cameron Brown – Vice President, Energy, Environment and Resources with Global Public Affairs
• Cayla Saby – Vice President of Government Relations & Commercial with AltaLink
• Graham Halsall – Director of Sustainability & Risk Management with ONE Properties
• Jesse Row – Executive Director of Alberta Energy Efficiency Alliance
• Kevin Dawson – Vice President, Strategic Integration at Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO)
• Matthew Davis – Director, Regulatory with Capital Power
• Megan Gill – Executive Director of Alberta Direct Connect Consumer Association
• Peter Casurella – Executive Director of SouthGrow Regional Initiative
• Riley Georgsen– Executive Director External Affairs and Communications at Alberta Utilities Commission
• Rishikesh Kumar – Director, Emerging Customer Solutions with FortisAlberta
• Steve Saddleback – Partner with Opimoyaso Group
• Vicki Zinyk – CEO of Alberta Cooperative Energy

WORKING GROUPS & SOLUTION AREAS

The council will also provide guidance to the project’s Working Groups, teams of subject matter experts responsible for hands-on solutioning, launching in October 2024. The Working Groups will initially focus on the following solution areas:

Incentivizing Optimization: creating novel mechanisms for utilities to prioritize optimizing the grid

Decentralized Future: exploring new ways to harness the benefits of Distributed Energy Resources (DERs)

Enhancing Demand Participation: exploring wholesale market opportunities for demand-side solutions and participation

PROJECT HISTORY

These solution areas were selected by the AEF Coalition, a group of 60+ representatives from Alberta’s electricity system engaged through Phase 1 of the initiative, as well as additional project contributors. Phase 1 also convened these groups to develop, test and enhance the co-created vision and principles for Alberta’s Electricity Future: Leading the Charge: A Vision for Alberta’s Electricity Future. The final version of the document, originally released publicly in draft form on March 4, 2024, is now available for download.

In Phase 2 of the initiative, the Energy Futures Lab conducted a review of over 60 studies, reports and electricity system modernization plans spanning 5 countries to uncover both regional and universal barriers to electricity systems change. The barriers were then assessed using an Alberta lens to unearth the top 10 systemic barriers to advancing grid modernization in Alberta. Briefs on each of the 10 systemic barriers are now available for download on the Energy Futures Lab website.

PHASE 3

Through its solution prototyping in Phase 3, the Energy Futures Lab aims to develop actionable and scalable solutions that help orient the province’s electricity landscape towards a system that is customer-driven, innovation focused, attractive to investors and which enhances Alberta’s future competitiveness by supporting regional growth industries and jobs they create.

“Technology alone will not be enough to solve the challenge of electrifying Alberta’s economy quickly and affordably,” says Alison Cretney, Managing Director of the Energy Futures Lab. “Change at this scale requires coordination at the highest levels of our electricity system. Supported by industry and policymakers seeking actionable, impactful and lasting solutions, Alberta’s Electricity Future Phase 3 utilizes the Lab’s trusted leadership in innovation to unlock the most promising collaborative solutions for a reliable, affordable and sustainable electricity system.”

“Electricity is the lifeblood of a modern economy, “ comments Peter Casurella, AEF Leadership Council member and Executive Director of SouthGrow Regional Initiative. “As a rural economic developer, I have a vested interest in ensuring that rural perspectives are considered as we determine how to prepare Alberta’s grid for significant growth in demand. I believe the Energy Futures Lab’s unique approach offers the greatest opportunity to create, implement and scale workable solutions that fairly represent everyone connected to the system—from rural economic regions, to transmission system owners, to residential electricity customers.”

CONTEXT OF THE WORK

Notably, this next phase begins as the Government of Alberta, Alberta Utilities Commission, and Alberta’s Electric System Operator (AESO) continue or commence their own consultations and processes for modernizing the province’s electricity system. The Energy Futures Lab’s process is not intended to be duplicative of existing efforts underway, but rather complementary and additive to ongoing work, contributing additional perspectives and analysis to the conversation.

For more information about the initiative or to learn more about how to get involved, please visit: energyfutureslab.com/innovations-challenges/albertas-electricity-future

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On July 3rd, the Natural Step Canada is becoming Generate Canada. Its mission, in partnership with the Smart Prosperity Institute, is to connect problem-solvers to tackle the most complex challenges at the heart of economy, environment, and society. By working together, we will generate solutions for a strong and inclusive economy that thrives within nature’s limits.

Why the rebrand?

While The Natural Step Canada’s vision has stood the test of time, our way of achieving it has evolved. The focus has shifted from influencing single organizations to influencing whole value-chains. By bringing together problem-solvers across the solutions ecosystem and putting all the tools of change on the table (policy, business practice, technology) we can achieve this. The new name speaks to this new approach – generating collaboration, innovation, and solutions.

The Energy Futures Lab is proud to be a solution space of Generate Canada.

Learn more about it at GenerateCanada.ca and follow them on LinkedIn and X.

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Over the past nine years the Energy Futures Lab (EFL) has been hosting innovation processes and supporting collaborative solutions to create the energy system the future requires of us. 

Throughout that time, we’ve been working within a dynamic energy system in a constant state of change – one that looks vastly different than it did even just a few years ago. Over the years, the ground has been readied and we are now seeing the seeds planted by the EFL over the years grow into opportunities in need of further acceleration, and solutions requiring our support to scale. 

Announcing a Strategic Shift

In response, the EFL is evolving our approach to accelerating the energy transition in Alberta. This responsiveness is a part of our nature as a social innovation lab, and one of the  collective strengths we have been cultivating together over the last nine years.

The EFL model, established in 2015, was created in response to widespread polarization on the subject of energy transition in Alberta and Canada. Together with our incredible network of Fellows, Ambassadors, partners and advisors, we have achieved collaborative action and policy impact on many fronts critical to the energy transition: battery metals value chain alignment, sustainable aviation fuels, digital innovation solutions, transition finance policy, engaging rural communities, and Indigenous economic reconciliation, to name just a few. We have also contributed to culture and strategy shifts in key organizations and deepening our shared journey and commitment to truth and reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples in Canada.

Over that time, we’ve also undertaken a number of strategic pivots – adapting our way of working to meet the evolving needs of the system in order to make the most impact. 

Most notably, this next transformation involves changing how we convene our core community of diverse innovators, leaders and energy transition champions, while ensuring that we carry forward the essential characteristics that make the EFL and its community so unique and special.

Where are we going now?

In part because of the work we’ve done together in the past nine years, the challenges we’re responding to now are different, and require an update in approach. Broadly, it’s now less about addressing the questions of “why do we need an energy transition, what it means and how should we work together?” and more about moving on to the challenge of “what are the top priorities and how do we get there at the pace and scale required?” 

FOCUS

Given this context, beginning in January 2024 the Lab will focus its resources (and capacity for multi-stakeholder engagement) on enabling new growth industries that will position Alberta’s economy to thrive in a net-zero future. Our emphasis on doing this in a way that is inclusive, equitable, and in alignment to the spirit of Truth and Reconciliation with Indigenous people, partners and communities will continue.

EVOLVING THE LAB STRUCTURE

In service of this direction, the Lab will convene around a maximum of two-to-three Innovation Challenges at any given time. These are multi-year, multi-phased, deep-dive explorations of urgent and “wicked” challenges undertaken with coalitions made up of industry and subject matter experts, partners, communities and Rights Holders. 

By focusing our efforts in concentrated areas, we believe that we can better mobilize our resources and our network to achieve outcomes that will have a significant impact toward creating the future energy system. An Innovation Challenge will result in smaller, specific scoped initiatives that will be supported by the EFL in ways that are required for their success (e.g. design and facilitation, fundraising, partnership brokering, communications, evaluation). Our initial confirmed Innovation Challenge is Alberta’s Electricity Future, with others to be identified and added over time.

Alongside the Innovation Challenge stream, the Lab will also undertake a series of Strategic Inquiries. These will be time-bound projects of a smaller scale, designed to explore the possibility of establishing an Innovation Challenge. To identify, prioritize and scope the challenges the EFL will work on, we will undertake research as well as convening the broader network to help sense what is most important to address in the energy system at the time.

FELLOWS, AMBASSADORS AND OUR LAB COMMUNITY

Since the Lab’s earliest days, the heart of the EFL has been its Fellowship. As we keep an eye to what role the system needs the EFL to play now, we are evolving how we engage this exceptional network of leaders.

As of September 2023, the Lab will no longer be accepting applications for its Fellowship and will evolve to a hyrbid model Ambassador program, designed specifically for past Fellows, partners, and strategic advisors. The 2024 hybrid EFL Fellowship and Ambassador Program is designed to accommodate different needs and engagement preferences within our community. Open to all current and past Fellows, this program provides participants with the flexibility to apply either as a Fellow or an Ambassador

EFL Fellows and Ambassadors, collectively, continue to be a group of innovators and influencers working in today’s energy system who explore and hold the significant tensions inherent in our mission. We will continue to leverage the network built over the past nine years to system sense, contribute to Innovation Challenges, and show leadership in mobilizing others to advance toward our shared vision.

This hybrid approach offers a singular cohort and program with roles tailored to individual preferences. The program aims to provide a dynamic and inclusive platform for all past Fellows, Ambassadors, and Alumni, fostering continuous learning, collaboration, and organizational support.

While we are not currently accepting applications for intake to our core Fellow & Ambassador community from the general public for 2024, we are committed to ensuring that our wider community is able to continue to contribute their ideas, knowledge, and skills to our mission in meaningful ways. We encourage you to stay informed and connected by signing up for our quarterly EFL Newsletter. This newsletter is your gateway to receiving updates and discovering opportunities for learning and active participation in our initiatives. It’s an excellent way to stay closely connected to the Lab and engage with our work.

The EFL Way

We attribute much of the Lab’s success over the past nine years to our co-creation and nurturing of a unique organizational DNA, informed by the strength of the commitment, lived experiences and hearts of those who have shown up to contribute to this incredible community. In particular, the emphasis on intentional and thoughtful approaches to convening diverse perspectives, our attention to equity in our work, as well as our commitment to continuously improve how our work includes and benefits Indigenous people and communities, and contributes to advancing their priorities and perspectives. These principles have emerged as important cornerstones of ‘The EFL Way’. How these shape our work and our collective achievements is core to the value we bring to the system, and will remain so going forward.

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