Project Overview

Canada is a leading energy-producing country, and its energy sector plays a critical role in its economy. The production, conversion, and use of energy has environmental impacts including increases in atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases, fresh water consumption, and land use disturbances. Canada’s large energy sector must deal with these issues. The focus of the research program is to identify pathways to low carbon energy systems based on cost, life cycle environmental impacts, and resource availability.

While there has been considerable 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 energy and the environment. The Industrial Research Chair program is aimed at assessing technologies of energy production, conversion, and use at the systems level, along with associated environmental impacts through development of fundamental science based models. This aims at developing Canada’s fundamental research capacity in the area of assessment of energy pathways.

This research program will train researchers who can contribute to the Canadian workforce and will help in contributing towards Canada’s effort in reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.