Collaboration & partnerships

Collaboration & partnerships

To accelerate the development of sustainable technologies, Cenovus collaborates with industry peers and actively partners with other industries, organizations, academic institutions, scientists and entrepreneurs to find innovative solutions and develop sustainability initiatives.

CSR Report

Read our Corporate Social Responsibility Report to learn more about the progress we’ve made toward our Indigenous reconciliation and Inclusion & Diversity targets as well as information about our safety performance.

Using collaboration to enhance culture and performance
Cenovus Energy’s President’s Awards recognize collaboration, culture and impressive results. Read the story.
Our purpose and values
Our purpose and values are key to delivering on our strategy. Our purpose is why we exist, and our values provide the framework to guide our daily behaviour and decision making. Learn more about our purpose and values.
  • Alberta Innovates

    Alberta Innovates is a provincial government agency supporting early-stage technology developers. We have worked with Alberta Innovates on numerous projects including the development of the Alberta Carbon Conversion Technology Centre for the NRG COSIA Carbon XPRIZE competition, which inspires the development of CO2 conversion technologies. We also worked together on our pilot project to advance a solvent-driven process, an alternative to steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) production that could materially reduce emissions intensity. We are supporting the Alberta Innovates’ Carbon Fibre Grand Challenge Phase 3 by supplying asphaltene feedstock to the participating finalists to further develop their asphaltene to carbon fibre conversion technologies.

    Through the InnoTech subsidiary, we are exploring nanoparticle technologies that could remove asphaltene from bitumen in-situ, resulting in upgraded oil production. These technologies also have the potential to adsorb hydrogen sulfide (H2S), reducing our surface footprint and reliance on costly H2S removal chemicals like triazine.

  • Avatar Innovations

    Avatar Innovations brings together industry thinkers, world-class researchers and global energy players to innovate in the emerging CarbonTech sector. Avatar is advancing a new energy future and solutions for energy transition through leadership, entrepreneurship, collaboration and capital.

    Through our corporate partnership, Cenovus employees participate in a crash course in innovation and entrepreneurship to generate new business ideas that address industry challenges. Avatar program participants work together to accelerate the advancement of new decarbonization technologies.

  • Canada’s Oil Sands Innovation Alliance (COSIA), part of the Pathways Alliance

    COSIA is an alliance of oil sands producers focused on accelerating the pace of improvement in environmental performance through collaborative action and innovation. To date, COSIA member companies have supported well over 1,000 clean technologies with $1.8 billion in funding.

  • Energy Transition Centre
    Calgary is becoming the centre of Canada’s carbon innovation movement and Cenovus, with several of our peers, have committed to providing experts and industry access to start-ups using the Energy Transition Centre. This technology accelerator is a partnership between the University of Calgary and Avatar Innovations will provide opportunities for companies to collaborate with researchers, with access to investors, labs and carbon technology testing facilities.
  • Evok Innovations

    Cenovus co-founded Evok Innovations, an investment partnership that accelerates the development and commercialization of environmental and economic solutions by connecting cleantech entrepreneurs with major customers and subject matter experts in industry, providing opportunities to pilot and demonstrate innovative technologies.

  • Pathways Alliance

    Cenovus is a founding member of the Pathways Alliance, which with Canadian Natural Resources, ConocoPhillips Canada, Imperial, MEG Energy and Suncor Energy, represents the six largest oil sands producers in Canada, operating 95% of oil sands production. The oil sands industry is a key economic driver for Alberta and Canada contributing billions to the economy annually while helping to provide a secure source of energy here and to the world. To ensure our industry can continue providing these benefits for decades to come, Pathways is also focused on advancing environmental innovation and projects including carbon capture and storage.

  • Petroleum Technology Alliance of Canada (PTAC)

    We are a member of PTAC, collaborating on the research and development of technology solutions for industry challenges such as environmental stewardship, operational efficiencies and cost reduction.

  • Perimeter Institute
    Perimeter Institute is a leading center for scientific research, training and educational outreach in foundational theoretical physics. Cenovus supports Quantum Causal Inference research (a rapidly emerging field that provides a mathematical framework for reasoning about cause and effect) to advance fundamental theory as well as develop insights into industry applications.
  • University of Alberta
    Together with the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and Alberta Innovates, Cenovus supports the Industrial Research Chair in Energy and Environmental Systems Engineering at the University of Alberta. The focus of the Chair Program is on Integrated Energy-Environmental Modelling, Energy Return on Investment of Energy Pathways and Techno-economic Assessment of Energy Conversion Pathways. Cenovus has representatives on the technical advisory committee - allowing for input and feedback into research findings and direction, access to research topics and papers, as well as the opportunity to provide Cenovus data for use in modeling exercises.
  • University of Calgary

    We are partnered with the University of Calgary in a few capacities, including through the Haskayne Business School’s Creative Destruction Labs (CDL) and on nanotechnology for various uses.

    Housed within top-tier post-secondary research institutions, CDL operates 12 sites globally. Cenovus’ support enables CLDF-Rockies at the University of Calgary to continue being an impactful member of the Canadian innovation ecosystem while providing us with a front-row seat to cutting-edge technologies, valuable connection to emerging ventures, and industry leaders, experts, and partners.

  • University of Toronto
    We are partnered with the University of Toronto through the Centre for Advanced Nanotechnology to develop a low-cost technology that uses nanoparticles to selectively and simultaneously capture/sequester CO2 in-situ, eliminating the need for surface separation of CO2 from flue gas, hence reducing surface footprint of CCUS operations. The sequestered CO2 can also be selectively released by changing the subsurface pressure and temperature.