GE announced the launch of an up to $1-million ecomagination open innovation challenge to help accelerate technology development in Canada’s oil sands. The Innovation Challenge will target two of the biggest opportunities to reduce green-house gas (GHG) emissions in the oil sands: new uses for waste heat and improved efficiency of steam generation.
GE is calling for submissions from within and outside the industry. The Challenge is in two parts, with submissions due September 30, 2014 and March 15, 2015. Winners of the Challenge can potentially share up to $1-million in seed funding to further develop and commercialize the proposed solutions and will be eligible to become a supplier or contractor to GE on future projects.
Canada’s oil sands are the third largest oil reserves in the world, next to Saudi Arabia and Venezuela, and represent a significant source of secure energy for global markets. Oil sands production is expected to grow substantially over the next 20 years, driving increased efforts for collaboration to accelerate the development of technology that will reduce GHG emissions.
“Collaboration is key to solving big challenges,” notes Elyse Allan, President and CEO GE Canada.
Strategic advisors for the GHG ecomagination Innovation Challenge include Canada’s Oil Sands Innovation Alliance (COSIA) and Alberta Innovates — Energy and Environment Solutions (AI-EES).
The winners of the first part of the Challenge will be announced in January 2015. Entries are now being accepted at www.geghgecochallenge.com
This is the sixth ecomagination challenge; previous challenges spanned the U.S., China, Australia and New Zealand, and the Middle East.
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