Dr. Eddy Isaacs is Executive Director of the Alberta Energy Research Institute (AERI). He holds a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Alberta and a BSc from McGill University. He has over 70 publications and 6 patents in the energy field.

Having joined the Alberta Research Council (ARC) in 1978, Isaacs was involved with projects relating to enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and interfacial phenomena in general, and targeting oil sands and heavy oil operations specifically. The Alberta Oil Sands Technology and Research Authority (AOSTRA), founded in 1975, supported some of these projects. He was with ARC for 23 years, heading its research efforts in heavy oil and oil sands before moving to AERI in December 2000.

- AERI background and responsibilities
- Independence for effective research
- Funding research
- Public access to information
- Carbon capture and Storage
- New technology development
- Industry accelerator
- Renewable energy vision
- Global eyes on Alberta

AERI was established August 1, 2000. It is responsible for all energy-related research and technology for the province of Alberta, and assumed responsibility for the oil and gas research programs previously administered by AOSTRA. The biggest success for AOSTRA was to develop, field test, commercialize and accelerate industry interest in the steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) technology.

AERI has responsibility for developing strategy on the future direction for energy research in Alberta, and the province’s investments in energy innovation. The Institute promotes energy research, technology evaluation and technology transfer in areas including oil and gas, heavy oil and oil sands, petrochemicals, coal, electricity, renewable and alternative energy, carbon sequestration and water management. AERI promotes consortia and builds networks by integrating the knowledge, skills and investment potential of industry players, federal and provincial governments, research providers and universities.

AERI is part of the Alberta government with an industry, government and academic Board of Directors. AERI takes a strategic view for acquiring, advancing and integrating the knowledge required to make Alberta a global energy leader, and helps the province make decisions about where it should most effectively invest its energy research and technology funds. Carefully selected projects are taken to the AERI board for acceptance or modification before they are recommended to the Minister of Advanced Education and Technology. The AERI base budget is about CA$16-17 million (US$ 15-16 million) but more is available for specific projects. Total budget in 2008 will be about CA$50 million (USD 46 million). The oil and gas sector represents about two-thirds of AERI’s work, and the largest portion of this relates to recovery.

AERI used to fund university projects on the basis of annual tendering. The system was changed to better link university research efforts to industrial applications of interest. This was done by sponsoring university Chairs. AERI co-supports, with matching industry dollars, several Chairs addressing topics such as oil sands extraction, geomechanics and thermal reservoir modeling. These include Professor John Shaw’s Industrial Research Chair in Petroleum Thermodynamics at the University of Alberta and Professor John Chen’s CMG Foundation Chair in Reservoir Simulation at the University of Calgary. AERI also supports the Alberta Ingenuity Centre for In Situ Energy at the University of Calgary and the Center of Oil Sands Innovation at the University of Alberta.

Chairs help AERI to link university research activities to field projects wanted by industry. This connection is a two-way street: AERI proposes projects to universities via the Chairs and the Chairs suggest projects for AERI to support. AERI aims to take a “big picture” approach, considering the strategic priorities of the province; this requires developing new areas of expertise. The organization is trying to be more proactive; not just behaving as a supplier of funds, but rather as an investor that can add value to advance projects. The objective is to provide a government perspective on what technological development is needed to advance clean energy, making things more sustainable and improving performance. AERI’s priorities will not necessarily be the same as those of a private company.

In addition to working through university Chairs, there are two main pathways to securing AERI funding for projects. One is by responding to requests for proposals published by AERI for studies to achieve a specific objective. One recent request related to next-generation upgrading technologies. Alternatively, organizations can submit their own ideas for funding at any time. Projects costing more than CA$1M must be approved by the full board, which meets 3 or 4 times a year. Lower-cost projects may be approved by an executive committee of the Board. Project plans must meet strict criteria. They must demonstrate how far the technology will contribute to Alberta’s goals and targets, including the project’s economic potential and environmental performance. AERI staff are responsible for the due diligence required before funds are allocated to take projects forward.

Historically, most of the AERI budget has gone towards university research, but there has been a broadening of the sectors receiving funding. Industrial engineering projects are now receiving an increasing share. AERI tries to help different organizations to work together, negotiating around company secrecy and other barriers in order to lubricate the process. Companies own the intellectual property (IP) of new technologies supported by AERI, but the results of work must be made public within a certain time window, typically 2 years, from publication of the report on the project. These reports, which date back to 1970s, used to remain confidential for 35 years. AERI now aims to make its historic data and reports, or summaries thereof, available through its web site. The reports include several field pilots from the 1970’s and 1980’s, including a carbonate program being managed by ARC. This was undertaken when the industry outlook was buoyant on the basis of rising oil price projections. Many projects were abandoned when the oil price fell, but the information gained remains valuable – geological data do not change!

Isaacs is involved with the Alberta Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) Development Council, and contributed to the federal and provincial task force that produced the report “Canada’s Fossil Energy Future: The Way Forward on Carbon Capture and Storage”. This report advises governments and industry on how to work together to facilitate and support the development of CSS opportunities in Canada. Isaacs is mainly involved with an innovation agenda: learning how technology can move projects forward, then offering proposals on certain aspects to help make sensible policy decisions. The link between technology and regulatory matters is important in many areas, such as tailings management and greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction. Setting effective policies requires a good knowledge of what technology is available. AERI is working with several companies on the use of saline aquifers for CCS, and is trying to match these companies with industrial generators of CO₂ in locations such as Fort Saskatchewan and Fort McMurray. AERI is also performing “well to wheel” lifecycle analysis of the total GHC emissions of oilsands products compared with those of imported crudes, in order to set the environmental impact of oilsands production in perspective.

AERI together with the Alberta Department of Energy also manages the Innovative Energy Technologies Programs (IETP) for the Alberta government. These programs use the royalty system to offer an incentive to companies to pilot and test new technologies in the field. This invariably includes work subcontracted to service companies. AERI evaluates the suitability of the proposed technologies, checks that they are an advancement of technology and then makes recommendations to the Department of Energy. 30% of the cost of approved pilot projects can be deducted from a company’s royalty payments. Examples of technologies that have benefited from the scheme include EOR using CO₂, chemical enhancements, and unconventional gas such as coalbed methane (CBM). AERI also works with other ministries, such as Environment, Finance and Enterprise, to attract investment, value-added opportunities, and promote diversification of the Alberta economy while considering the energy balance of the future, and environmental performance.

According to Isaacs, AERI’s role is to accelerate projects. While he accepts that many would have happened without AERI’s facilitation, he is confident that his organization has helped to move them on. Projects assisted to commercialisation include a number of recovery processes, such as electrical heating and steam-solvent bitumen recovery. Several projects on the upgrading of bitumen, and gasification of bitumen and CCS, working with companies such as EPCOR and Sherritt, have proceeded to Front End Engineering Design (FEED) studies. These typically cost CA$60-100 million (US$ 56 – 93 million), and will determine whether the technologies will ultimately go commercial.

AERI is also examining renewables, and is working with the City of Edmonton on the conversion of municipal waste to fuel. A world-class testing facility is being built to test agricultural, forestry and municipal waste as feedstocks. The project is also evaluating genetically modified crops, developed to grow fast, as a fuel source. Edmonton was selected because it is a recognized world leader in the handling and treatment of waste and water, looking for opportunities to reduce landfill. Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) is working on similar technology with the city of London, Ontario, which also has an effective waste water treatment facility.

AERI is involved in several other industry projects related to renewable energy, including fuel cells, ethanol and wind power. It has the vision that the world is moving into an integrated energy economy, rather than separate sectors such as power, oil and gas. The organization is working to build connections between diverse industries and company sectors, helping them to integrate to become more environmentally friendly. For example, the waste of one industry, such as heavy oil, could serve as the feedstock for another.

AERI partners with industry and collaborates with several groups around the world, looking for the best available global technologies and how they could benefit Alberta. The Institute is working with groups in Germany and China on aromatic ring-opening catalysts to crack certain components of bitumen, to assist petrochemical companies searching for alternate feedstock to that obtained from natural gas liquids. AERI has linked these overseas groups to workers at the University of Calgary, who can offer validation of results and development of techniques. AERI is also working with Great Point Energy and Pratt and Whitney on gasification of coal and petroleum coke, which is being evaluated in the US. The Institute is particularly anticipating the next stage of development – identifying the first adopters in Alberta who could make use of these technologies or assist with future research and pilot tests.

More details about the work of AERI, including its strategic plans and many useful links, are available at the AERI web site.