The Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres and the University of Alberta in Canada have announced plans to intensify their research collaboration, particularly in the areas of Energy and Earth and Environment. The President of the Helmholtz Association, Prof. Jürgen Mlynek, and the President of the University of Alberta, Prof. Indira Samarasekera, signed a Memorandum of Understanding in the presence of government representatives.
The partnership is slated to last for several years and will cover research topics such as the environmentally responsible use of oil sands, carbon capture and storage (CCS), geothermal energy, land and water restoration and recultivation and landscape design. “We will bring our expertise to the table to help other countries use these important energy resources in an environmentally friendly way. The partnership also opens up new opportunities for technology transfer and collaboration with business and industry,” said Mlynek.
The Helmholtz-Alberta initiative will also incorporate the research competences of both partners to study how the oil sands deposits of Alberta, the largest in the world, can be used in an environmentally responsible manner.
“This is a large source of raw material for meeting global energy demands in the foreseeable future. In the past, however, extracting it has had a serious impact on the environment,” said Mlynek. Significant amounts of energy are needed to extract and refine the material, which is a type of bitumen. Extracting oil sands also requires large quantities of water, which then need to be retreated. In addition, strip mining severely damages the landscape, necessitating careful recultivation.
Four Helmholtz Centres have already joined the initiative: the Helmholtz Centre Potsdam – German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ), the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) and Forschungszentrum Jülich.
With 36,000 students and an annual budget of CAD500 million, the University of Alberta is one of Canada’s most important universities. Due to its close proximity to large deposits of oil sands, the institution performs a great deal of research on the substance.
The partnership is slated to last for several years and will cover research topics such as the environmentally responsible use of oil sands, carbon capture and storage (CCS), geothermal energy, land and water restoration and recultivation and landscape design. “We will bring our expertise to the table to help other countries use these important energy resources in an environmentally friendly way. The partnership also opens up new opportunities for technology transfer and collaboration with business and industry,” said Mlynek.
The Helmholtz-Alberta initiative will also incorporate the research competences of both partners to study how the oil sands deposits of Alberta, the largest in the world, can be used in an environmentally responsible manner.
“This is a large source of raw material for meeting global energy demands in the foreseeable future. In the past, however, extracting it has had a serious impact on the environment,” said Mlynek. Significant amounts of energy are needed to extract and refine the material, which is a type of bitumen. Extracting oil sands also requires large quantities of water, which then need to be retreated. In addition, strip mining severely damages the landscape, necessitating careful recultivation.
Four Helmholtz Centres have already joined the initiative: the Helmholtz Centre Potsdam – German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ), the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) and Forschungszentrum Jülich.
With 36,000 students and an annual budget of CAD500 million, the University of Alberta is one of Canada’s most important universities. Due to its close proximity to large deposits of oil sands, the institution performs a great deal of research on the substance.
