Calgary, AB – Alberta is strengthening its position as a global leader in drilling innovation. Emissions Reduction Alberta (ERA) today announced $37 million in funding for 10 projects valued at nearly $179 million that will advance innovative drilling technologies, including robotic automation, AI-driven energy management, and next-generation geothermal systems.
Spanning oil and gas, geothermal, and critical minerals, these projects will support the development and deployment of technologies that improve drilling performance, reduce emissions, and expand opportunities in emerging sectors.
Earlier today at Platform Calgary, Grant Hunter, Minister of Environment and Protected Areas, and Justin Riemer, CEO of Emissions Reduction Alberta (ERA), were joined by Curtis Cook, President of Rodatherm Energy Corporation, and Ashley Fernandes, Vice President, Drilling Engineering & Technology at Precision Drilling, to announce the successful projects under ERA’s Drilling Technology Challenge during Calgary Stampede.
“Alberta innovators are advancing world-leading drilling technologies that will create jobs, strengthen competitiveness, reduce emissions and unlock new opportunities in geothermal energy, critical minerals, and carbon capture.”
Grant Hunter, Minister of Environment and Protected Areas, Alberta
“Alberta didn’t develop world leading drilling technology by standing still — we got here by solving hard problems better than others. These investments build on that legacy. We’re taking the same ingenuity that built this province’s energy industry and applying it to the technologies that will define the next generation of resource development globally.”
Justin Riemer, CEO, ERA
Projects supported through this program showcase next-generation drilling technologies, including robotic automation to enhance safety on drilling rigs, AI-enabled energy management, advanced downhole sensing, precision well navigation and ranging, hybrid power systems, and geothermal innovations that improve performance while reducing emissions, costs, and operational impacts.
The Challenge brings together Alberta innovators with international technology leaders and project partners from Switzerland, Norway, the Netherlands, the United States, and across Alberta, reinforcing the province’s role as a global hub for drilling and subsurface technology development.
If successful, the funded projects are estimated to deliver annual greenhouse gas emissions reductions of 24,100 tonnes of CO2 equivalent, about 68,300 cumulative tonnes by 2030, and approximately 308,100 tonnes by 2050. These benefits have significant potential to scale should the technologies be broadly adopted.
Projects include:
Total Project Value: $8,880,000 | ERA Funding: $4,400,000
Location: Winterthur, Switzerland and Calgary, AB
Develop a compact and autonomous electric drilling robot for geothermal boreholes used in ground-source heat pumps.
Total Project Value: $6,830,000 | ERA Funding: $2,640,000
Location: Nisku and Lloydminster, AB
Demonstrate a rig-mounted software platform that optimizes drilling power use through real-time data capture and automation to reduce fuel use and associated emissions.
Total Project Value: $83,330,000 | ERA Funding: $8,000,000
Location: Calgary, AB
Upgrade Eavor’s core technology with a suite of solutions to enable access to superhot geothermal resources, increase energy output, and reduce the levelized cost of electricity.
Total Project Value: $11,560,000 | ERA Funding: $5,000,000
Location: Stavanger, Norway; Renkum, Netherlands; Alberta (Various)
Validate modular downhole drilling technology that improves well construction speed, reach, and efficiency using real-time sensing and closed-loop automation.
Total Project Value: $7,500,000 | ERA Funding: $2,250,000
Location: Alberta (Various)
Demonstrate multilateral well re-entry technology for precise access to lateral branches using real-time downhole sensing, directional control, and surface-steered navigation.
Phase Advanced Sensor Systems Corp.
Total Project Value: $1,570,000 | ERA Funding: $420,000
Location: Edmonton, AB
Develop and test high-temperature downhole pressure sensors for geothermal wells operating above 200°C, where current solutions are unavailable.
Precision Drilling Corporation
Total Project Value: $6,200,000 | ERA Funding: $3,100,000
Location: Nisku, AB
Demonstrate robotic automation and pipe-handling technologies that improve drilling safety, reliability, and operational efficiency through a first-of-kind Alberta field deployment.
Total Project Value: $46,400,000 | ERA Funding: $8,000,000
Location: Milford, Utah, U.S.A.
Adapt oil & gas drilling solutions and novel wellbore architectures for use in closed-loop geothermal systems to produce firm zero-emission electricity.
Total Project Value: $3,670,000 | ERA Funding: $1,800,000
Location: Alberta Deep Basin Drilling Pads
Demonstrate a hybrid drilling power system that integrates gas blending, battery storage, and intelligent controls to reduce diesel use, emissions, fuel trucking, and operating costs.
Total Project Value: $3,510,000 | ERA Funding: $1,420,000
Location: Northern Alberta
Pilot real-time sensing and ranging technology that identifies nearby wellbores and subsurface hazards during SAGD drilling, improving accuracy while reducing site disturbance and emissions.
Projects were selected through ERA’s competitive, expert-led review process, overseen by an independent Fairness Monitor who reports directly to the Board.
ERA funding recipients are required to publicly report project outcomes, including emissions reductions, job creation, environmental and economic benefits, and key lessons learned. Final outcomes reports are shared publicly to help advance technologies toward commercialization and inform future innovation efforts.
For more information, contact:
Kevin Duncan
Marketing and Communications
Emissions Reduction Alberta
kduncan@eralberta.ca
(403) 431-2859
About Emissions Reduction Alberta (ERA)
Since 2009, ERA has committed $1.17 billion to 352 projects valued at more than $11.3 billion, with funded technologies projected to reduce emissions by 28.1 million tonnes of CO2e by 2030 and 83.1 million tonnes by 2050 while generating significant economic benefits for Alberta.
About Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction (TIER) Funding
The Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction (TIER) Regulation is at the core of emissions management in Alberta. The TIER system implements Alberta’s industrial carbon pricing and emissions trading system. TIER helps industrial facilities find innovative ways to reduce emissions and invest in clean technology to stay competitive and save money.