ESTEVAN — Potential future projects that are currently in the works, and that might bring in billions of dollars in investments to Estevan, were discussed during the Our Energy, Our Future three-year development proposal presentation at the Southeast College's Estevan campus on March 6.
A lot of community leaders and residents attended the event to learn more about what Estevan's future might look like, listen to what's currently being done and what makes Estevan an attractive place for innovational technologies.
Southeast Techhub executive director Gordon More and Tania Andrist, the applied research lead officer with the SE College's Centre of Sustainable Innovation (CSI), talked about how the southeast can empower a future of economic growth through innovation and technology.
"Innovation in energy is currently the largest disruption the world is experiencing. Estevan and Saskatchewan will succeed in the current challenge of energy disruption through the work of The Innovation Centre for Energy Development (ICED)," More said in the presentation, which outlined TechHub's three-year proposal within the greater framework of ICED.
"What sectors are we going after? It's all about energy. This is what we know, this is what our passion is, this is what our skill set is. Energy co-generation, energy transmission, energy storage, and energy in transportation," More outlined.
He noted that ICED is not a non-profit organization yet but is a new partnership between Southeast College's Centre for Sustainable Innovation and the Southeast Techhub.
"This partnership will provide an ecosystem for companies and institutions to complete their applied research or product development projects in southeast Saskatchewan. This will, in turn, lead to projects being commercialized and manufactured in southeast Saskatchewan, creating new industries, companies and jobs," says the proposal.
Andrist outlined the CSI's role in the project, where they will provide facilities and expertise for applied research, as well as training programs in partnership with clients of ICED's ecosystem. They will also provide education that helps to build and grow the needed skills required by the clients, and work with advanced education partners to help locate their applied research projects in southeast Saskatchewan.
The SE Techhub, in turn, will provide facilities and expertise to assist with product development; assist with their fundraising needs with the main focus on private capital; assist with business planning; and market southeast Saskatchewan and ICED as a place for applied research, product development, commercialization and manufacturing.
To create an ecosystem that meets the needs for applied research and product development in the energy sector, ICED will need to provide a number of developments. The cornerstone projects outlined in the proposal, which are in the early planning stages, are not being promised, but are opportunities that are being actively negotiated, were:
1. Hydrogen hub – A project to provide gasification of Estevan's lignite coal to create hydrogen with the offtake carbon dioxide being handled by the existing carbon capture and storage (CCS) facility infrastructure. While most of the hydrogen is planned to be sold to existing customers, there will be hydrogen available for applied research and product development. Potential projects may be powering agricultural machinery, aerospace, including drones, and/or rail. If it proceeds, the hydrogen hub could keep the mines open after the power plant closes, More noted.
2. Solar-powered datacentre – It is a hub, hosting websites and cloud-based computing. By 2040, this fast-growing industry is projected to account for 14 per cent of all global emissions. As such there is a strong push towards carbon-neutral datacentres. More noted the centre will also have natural gas infrastructure for backup, and solar panels will be set higher to allow for agricultural use of land.
3. Organic chemistry lab – Having a chemistry lab is one of the biggest requirements for the target market, the proposal outlines. The closest accessible lab is five hours away in Saskatoon, and such a delay in processing would not meet the needs of the local market. Currently, there are a number of active projects needing a lab in Estevan, including coal to graphite with the University of George Washington; lithium extraction from brine with Legacy Water; and Buffalo Potash.
4. Microgrid – A microgrid will allow various energy projects to tie into other projects to mimic a real-world environment. For example, a battery storage project tied into the microgrid can see how their product works with an energy-generation project that is also tied into the same grid. This project will also provide training needed to work at a datacenter or a solar or wind project.
5. Computer science training through projects – This will have students paired with projects. Within industry with their instructor, they will develop a work plan to solve a real-world problem, Andrist explained, thus acquiring training and also helping the industry advance. More noted that this training opportunity may also help retain local technically-inclined people, providing them with tools and opportunities.
The datacentre and hydrogen hub alone could mean a US$4.5 billion investment, about 400 permanent full-time high-paying jobs and the potential for further spin-off projects.
All projects are interconnected and would work as an ecosystem benefitting each other. More noted that it will take a few years to make things happen, but a lot of co-ordination is already underway.
In the presentation, he also outlined the answer to the "Why southeast Saskatchewan?" question.
"Southeast Saskatchewan provides a space unlike any other in North America. From its extreme weather, -40 C winters to +40 C summers, its powerful winds to receiving 2,500 hours of sunshine. Our location makes the perfect natural laboratory for applied research and product development in energy generation, transmission and storage," the presentation said.
The geothermal formations in the area, existing energy sector skilled workforce, connection to NAFTA, existing large aerospace, developed agricultural sector, CCS with its infrastructure, and location near the U.S. and developed transportation system, were also listed as factors that make this region set for success in filling needs and gaps with innovation in energy.
The presentation wrapped with a discussion of ways to support the proposal.
"ICED represents an opportunity where we can decide how our future looks, but that can only happen if we put our energy into this project," the proposal says.
The support can come through limited public funding options for the science-inclined projects of ICED, healthy constructive conversations and spreading the word about the opportunities offered, from federal and provincial governments, as well as from private capital.
"Both the hydrogen and the datacentre's funding is coming from private capital. Almost exclusively from the United States of America. If you are an existing investor and know how to invest and are intrigued by either of these projects, please do reach out to us and we can connect you to right people," the proposal pitches.
Mayor Roy Ludwig thanked More and Andrist for their work and invited the community to get involved in the conversation.
Ken Hoste, the assistant business manager with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 2067, representing workers at SaskPower, then took to the stage.
"For generations, coal has provided a stable living for many people in the southeast. Coal has provided us a low-cost reliable energy source for power production in the province while providing stable middle-class jobs for generations. Recent challenges have made it necessary for the coal workers of Estevan and Coronach to reconsider their options," Hoste said.
"While the IBEW will never give up on the fight for coal and CCS technology to remain part of the mix of power generation in Saskatchewan, the Southeast Techhub is also a way for our coal workers to explore other options. Our union membership has many tradespeople, technologists and workers with ideas, but let's face it, ideas are a dime a dozen without the resources and supports to get them off the ground. The Techhub is one way to help these innovators make their visions a reality.
"For this reason, IBEW supports the three-year proposal with the Innovation Centre for Energy Development. We're in an unprecedented position where, as a community, we need to think towards the future and innovations, especially that have a focus on the value at its side of the coal industry. This can only make our community prosper," Hoste concluded.
Estevan Chamber of Commerce executive director Jackie Wall voiced their support, noting that they started lobbying a similar idea to the federal and provincial governments several years ago.
"We were saying that this is the place for the Centre for Energy Excellence, I think I called it. We proposed it, but we didn't know where to go with that. We lobbied, we talked about it with the governments, we talked to industry, we did what we could as a chamber, but what it really takes is collaboration, key people coming in with the right connections, the right collaboration and the right brain," Wall said.
"There's so much possibility. There is so much talent in this community. There's so much resilience, and the synergies and the collaboration that's happening right now, this is exciting. This is the time. This is the turning point," she added.
To watch the full presentation and to learn more about the proposal, visit SE Techhub's website at estevanhub.ca.
