CANSTOREnergy Research Technology

Climate Positive Energy led the development of CANSTOREnergy: Seasonal Storage of Renewable Energy, a collaborative effort being supported by $24M through the federal New Frontiers in Research Fund’s 2022 Transformation Competition.

CANSTOREnergy brings together researchers from 11 Canadian universities, along with community, utility and industry partners, to develop technologies that convert carbon-based emissions into useful products, such as fuels and raw materials, and create a net-zero means of seasonal storage for renewable energy that meets specific community needs. At the core of the project is a commitment to engaging community members about their energy challenges and goals and how carbon conversion technologies could fit into their future.

With guidance from communities that might use such technology, CANSTOREnergy will convert carbon emissions, or CO2, into high energy-density synthetic fuels and chemical feedstocks. The outcome is a net-zero carbon means of seasonal storage for renewable energy that merges with existing community infrastructure, considers the diverse needs and goals of both urban and rural communities in creating new energy futures, and enables Canada to lead in reducing fossil fuel extraction and the just transformation of its energy systems.

The Challenge

To mitigate climate change and address social inequality, energy systems need to be reenvisioned

Canada has vast renewable energy capacity, yet remains deeply reliant on fossil fuels. The key barrier to the expansion of renewable sources is a lack of seasonal storage: our renewable energy supply is 6- months out of sync with demand. Storing the excess summer-generated renewable energy for use in winter is a grand challenge, which can only be addressed with gridscale conversion of renewable electricity into storable fuels. Transformations in the energy sector are often driven by technological innovation, yet technological fixes often have negative spillover effects.

With attention to the environmental and social trade-offs that accompany energy production, CANSTOREnergy will integrate policy, community engagement, and ownership models to steer technological development.

turquoise river running through a forest

The Approach

The project will deliberately focus on two very different regions – Yukon and the southern Ontario city of Hamilton – in recognition that there is no one-size-fits-all approach in a vast country like Canada

The project’s two sites highlight the different challenges Canadian regions face when considering how carbon conversion technologies can be successfully adapted to existing infrastructure, economic forces and social goals. Yukon, for example, is not included in the electrical grid that connects much of the U.S. and Canada, and seasonal extremes limit the availability of renewable energy. As a result, many communities need to import diesel fuel during the harsh winter months – which comes at a high cost both environmentally and financially. Hamilton, by contrast, is a densely populated urban centre that is plugged into the main North American power grid. Heavy industry fuels the local economy, but the environmental costs, such as air pollution, are unevenly distributed and disproportionately impact low-income and marginalized communities.

At the core of the project is a commitment to engaging community members about their energy challenges and goals and how carbon conversion technologies could fit into their future.

The Impact

The ultra high-reward outcome for the north is a carbon net-zero means of seasonal storage for renewable energy that merges with existing community infrastructure

The CANSTOREnergy research team is motivated by the opportunity to reduce fossil fuels use, to consider the diverse needs and goals of both urban and rural communities, and for Canada to lead in a transformation of the energy system with economic benefits nationally and climate benefits globally—a made-in-Canada renewable energy storage solution that considers local concerns and displaces fossil fuel use. CANSTOREnergy is shaped and supported by foresight and clarity on the community, energy and carbon costs and benefits of such a significant shift.