Grant: Industrial Research Chairs

Canada is a leading energy-producing country, and its energy sector plays a critical role in its economy. Theproduction, conversion, and use of energy has environmental impacts including increases in atmosphericconcentrations of greenhouse gases, fresh water consumption, and land use disturbances. Canada's large energysector must deal with these issues. The focus of the research program is to identify pathways to low carbonenergy systems based on cost, life cycle environmental impacts, and resource availability. While there has beenconsiderable research on the development of technologies for the production, conversion, and use of energy,relatively little has been done at the systems level to understand and evaluate the relationship between energyand the environment. The Industrial Research Chair program is aimed at assessing technologies of energyproduction, conversion, and use at the systems level, along with associated environmental impacts throughdevelopment of fundamental science based models. This aims at developing Canada's fundamental researchcapacity in the area of assessment of energy pathways. This proposed research program is a timely initiative.The program will train researchers who would contribute to Canadian workforce and will help in contributingtowards Canada's effort in reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.