Do you have a new tailings technology you would like to test? InnoTech Alberta offers a mature fine tailings sample bank where you can purchase tailings samples from the Athabasca oil sands region. Access the InnoTech Alberta Mature Fine Tailings Sample Bank to learn more. 

The following provides an overview of available funding sources to support industry projects. Looking for funding support? Check out the organizations below. 

• Alberta Innovates. The Clean Resources program focuses on three key areas relevant to the oil sands:
  • The advanced Hydrocarbons portfolio (Cleaner Hydrocarbon Production and Innovative Hydrocarbon Products) 
  • The Clean Technology portfolio consisting of three programs: Renewable and Alternative Energy, Bioenergy, and Carbon Capture and Utilization 
  • Environmental Innovation supports investments in knowledge and technology gaps in two major programs: Water Innovation Program and Land and Biodiversity
• Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC). Provides venture debt on deals from a few million dollars up to twenty million dollars.
• Calgary Economic Development. Works with business, government and community partners to attract busines, investment and foster trade.
• Emission Reduction Alberta - Innovator Support Pilot. Works with innovators, government and industry to help address gaps – often though convening additional partners ad resources.
• Foresight/Platform Cleantech Accelerator. Focused exclusively on cleantech, this program provides a suite of services through a local Alberta accelerator targeting early stage tech ventures. They offer detailed training programs focused on developing the value and proposition and a technology roadmap. 
• Government of Canada's Clean Growth Hub - A is a free service by the Government of Canada, and works with clean technology producers and adopters to help find federal programs and services to advance clean tech projects. 
• Mitacs. Funds highly qualified researchers to advance your research project. 

COSIA

• Cenovus Oil Sands 101 - Size of reserves, how we access oil sands, and how we get it out of the ground.
• What’s Different About Canadian Oil Sands - What makes our product and the processes we use to extract it unique.

Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers

• Canada’s Oil Sands Fact Book - Understanding the value of Canada's oil sands in our energy future. 
• Oil Extraction - How oil is extracted is geology-dependent. 
• Oil Sands 101 - Explanation, History, Extraction Processes
• Oil Sands Virtual Tour
• What are the Oil Sands - History, Locations, Processes, Economic Benefits & Innovation
• SAGD Virtual Tour - In CAPP's newest immersive experience, virtual reality takes you deep underground to learn how steam heats bitumen to make it flow, a technology that has revolutionized oil sands production with less land disturbance than surface mining. You'll also find fascinating quick facts and get inside an actual in situ operation. 

Government of Alberta

• Oil Sands 101 - Learn the oil sands process, from initial permit applications through to reclamation of the site. 

Oil Sands Magazine

• Oil Sands 101 - Oil sands geology, properties, extraction processes, bitumen upgrading, refining, transportation & environmental footprint. 

Alberta is home to various centres to help support your research. Click to learn more. 

• Water Treatment Development Centre (WTDC)
• Once Through Steam Generator (OTSG) 
• Alberta Carbon Conversion Technology Centre (ACCTC)
• Alberta Carbon Trunk Line (ACTL)

These are useful tools to support the development of your innovation submissions to COSIA.

• Development of a SAGD Reference Facility - This tool helps technology vendors become more familiar with SAGD operations, including the material and energy balances for various kinds of oil sands facilities. It helps them better identify how their technologies might integrate with existing equipment so they can better quantify the potential GHG and water benefits of their technology. 
  • Project Report PDF
     
• Cost Benefit Analysis Tool - The COSIA Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA) Tool (Version 1.0) is an MS-Excel based tool used to assist solution providers with providing technology submissions to COSIA. The CCBA Tool is a screening tool used to provide a consistent directional basis to assess technology submissions.
  • User Guide COSIA Cost Benefit Tool Rev 1.0.docm
  • COSIA Cost Benefit Tool Rev 1.05.xls
     
• InsituSIM - InsituSIM is an interactive cloud-based software that innovators can use to help design their solution so that it can be more easily integrated in an oil sands facility. This tool can also provide a high level indication of the costs and benefits of the technology which innovators can use to promote their offering.
  • InsituSIM
  • Click here to watch our InsituSIM Launch Webinar for further insights regarding the InsituSIM tool

• Material and Energy Balance for an Oil Sands Surface Mining and Bitumen Extraction Reference Facility - This report provides a description of an oil sands surface mining bitumen extraction process, and a methodology used to create material and heat balances and calculate GHG emissions for the process. The resulting Material and Energy balances are intended to facilitate the evaluation of GHG reduction opportunities and water and heat recovery possibilities by providing a common basis of process information needed for prospective technology developers to better quantify the benefits and complete the analysis of their technologies.
  • Final Report PDF