Corporate responsibility

Saltworks, based in Vancouver, Canada, has developed an energy efficient way to convert salt water into fresh water through desalination. The company's technology removes salt from seawater and underground saline water by harnessing low-temperature heat provided by solar energy or waste heat from power generation, which reduces the amount of mechanical and/or electrical energy required. Potential applications for Saltworks' technology include processing water for industry, as well as producing drinking water for communities and irrigation water for agriculture.

General Fusion is developing fusion technology where two atoms come into contact and bind together to release energy. This is the same way the sun produces energy. General Fusion uses hydrogen atoms, which are found in abundance in seawater. The by-products of the reaction are safe for the environment and the process emits no greenhouse gases.

We have partnered with the Province of New Brunswick in support of Atlantic Hydrogen's plasma arc technology that generates a cleaner burning natural gas fuel. Atlantic Hydrogen is testing the effects on emissions of using hydrogen-enriched natural gas, specifically in reducing nitrogen and sulphur oxides (NOx and SOx).

Hifi is developing tools to quantify vent flow rates from wellbore surface casing and detect methane gas migration. Industry regulations require serious vent flows to be repaired immediately; but, there is no reliable technology or method to identify leak sources. Hifi's technology, which has much higher sensitivity than existing methods, promises to detect leaks quickly and thereby reduce emissions and remediation costs.

Our $3 million donation to mark the University of Alberta's centennial helped to create a research chair for environmental engineering. The Cenovus Chair in Environmental Engineering will focus on enhancing our understanding of best practices in this key area of energy development.

Using an environmentally-benign metal alloy, Seal Well is able to create a better sealant for cracked or leaking oil and gas production wells. Leaking wells can emit noxious and toxic chemicals. Seal Well promises to solve these problematic leaks, offering a long-term method of environmental remediation.

Quebec-based CVTCorp specializes in developing medium-to-high power, continuously variable transmissions (CVTs) for stationary generation systems and large mobile applications. Unlike systems that use geared transmissions, CVTCorp's technology reduces fuel consumption by constantly matching demand to engine output, which greatly increases engine efficiency.