Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE) has announced twenty new projects valued at more than $36 million. Water-focused projects include brine desalination and watermain improvements.
The funding is the result of the Alberta-Ontario Innovation Program (AOIP), a cross-provincial collaboration between Ontario and Alberta. Projects are funded by OCE with additional funding on select projects by Alberta Innovates (AI), Emissions Reduction Alberta (ERA) and Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).
“Partnerships like the Alberta-Ontario Innovation Program bring together key contributors to Canada’s innovation ecosystem, encouraging our countries best and brightest to collaborate on R&D projects,” said Reza Moridi, Ontario Minister of Research, Innovation and Science. “Our government values this work, and I am excited to see these projects build a prosperous future for all of us, both here in Ontario and across the country.”
Partners Shell Canada Ltd., Lambton College of Applied Arts and Technology, KmX Corporation, and Alberta Innovates will work on hyper desalination technology for brine water. Alberta Innovatves will also support a collaboration between the University of Waterloo, Insituform Technologies Limited, and the University of Alberta to advance watermain renovation and design.
“Innovation and collaboration are the key for building a productive, diversified and sustainable Canadian economy that can compete globally,” said Deron Bilous, Minister of Alberta Economic Development and Trade. “The Alberta-Ontario Innovation Program provides effective ways for innovators in both provinces to access knowledge, resources and connections to bring solutions forward in critical areas like the environment, health, energy and industrial competitiveness.”
Other projects include research on advanced material for safer energy pipelines and flexible pipe connections for high pressure systems.
The total project value is $36.6 million includes:
- Ontario funding of $3.51 million through OCE and $3.4 million from industry partners
- Alberta funding of $2.23 million through AI, $8.74 million through ERA and industry partner funding of $15.3 million
- National funding of $3.32 million through NSERC
