Flash Forest Commercial Pilots, AI-Enabled Site Selection, Demonstrations of Land (Disc-Trencher) and Air (Drone) Deployment Systems and BIological Technology in Alberta’s Boreal Forests
Flash Forest aims to advance its drone-based tree planting technology by integrating AI-driven site selection software, incorporating land-based planting techniques, and diversifying tree species to enhance carbon sequestration. Informed by extensive collaboration with forestry experts and data analysis, Flash Forest has identified site and species selection as critical components of successful reforestation practices. To optimize…
Fish Creek Waste Water Treatment Plant Heat Recovery from Wastewater Effluent
The City of Calgary is advancing an innovative solution to address increasing heating demands at the Fish Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant with the installation of Alberta’s first, and Canada’s second, Wastewater Heat Recovery (WWHR) facility. This low-carbon system will capture thermal energy from treated effluent to meet the additional 1,500 kW heating capacity needed for…
Driving Green Innovation: Paper Machine Upgrades for Sustainable Grades and Lower GHG Emissions
Alberta Newsprint Company (ANC), Alberta’s first and only paper mill, is undergoing significant energy efficiency upgrades to reduce costs, cut emissions, and improve product quality. By integrating advanced technologies, ANC will reduce energy consumption and raw material use while improving its competitiveness in the industry. The project integrates energy-efficient upgrades, and expected outcomes include cutting…
Geothermal Lumber Drying Kilns
The goal of Canfor’s emissions reductions project is to develop a commercial-scale geothermal direct-heat system at their Whitecourt facility. Drying lumber in kilns is a key step in manufacturing high quality, heat-treated lumber products and represents a significant component of energy used at their facilities. This project intends to provide geothermal heat to the sawmill’s kilns…
MPR Fibre Procurement Project
Mercer Peace River (MPR), a pulp mill and cogeneration facility located in Northern Alberta, is undertaking a capital investment project to transform its fibre procurement process, improving environmental performance and creating a more sustainable business model.This transformative process improvement optimizes forestry operations, allowing for enhanced natural GHG sinks, novel fuel switching from fossil fuels to…
Application of Artificial Intelligence at Pulp Refiners to Optimize Energy Usage and Product Quality
Millar Western Forest Products Ltd. operates a bleached chemi-thermo-mechanical pulp (BCTMP) mill in Whitecourt, Alberta. The refining stage of the mill’s pulping process, in which the cellulose fibres in wood chips are separated by electrically-driven mechanical refiners, is a significant consumer of energy from the power grid and indirect source of associated greenhouse gas (GHG)…
Flash Forest Commercial Pilots and Demonstrations of Rapid Drone Reforestation Technology for 2021 to 2023
Flash Forest utilizes drone reforestation technology comprised of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and hardware, aerial mapping software, automation, and biological seed pod technology to reforest areas at a rapid pace. Flash Forest’s mapping and telemetry technology, intakes current environmental conditions to ensure trees are planted uniformly and only where they can survive. The seed firing…
Kraft Pulp Mill Flue Gas Energy Recovery Project
This project will deploy a heat recovery system at the Al-Pac Kraft Pulp Mill to capture heat from the plant’s flue gas stream. The recovered flue gas heat will go into the hot water system for the facility, freeing up steam to generate additional “green” electricity. The innovative aspect of this approach is the unique…
Tree Species Adaptation Risk Management
ERA provided $3 million to the Tree Species Adaptation Risk Management Project. The climate change adaptation project replicated climate variations through strategic plantings at test sites of species from other regions of the province (for example, planting northern species in southern Alberta). This knowledge is crucial to the province’s forest industry as well as the…
Bio-Methanation with Power Generation
This project involved the integration of an energy efficient anaerobic digestion system into the Slave Lake Pulp wastewater treatment system. Waste activated sludge is generated in large quantities at pulp mills and is usually either incinerated, land filled or land applied. With the integration of the new system, the treatment facility can generate a methane…
