{"id":60859,"date":"2023-11-12T10:20:09","date_gmt":"2023-11-12T18:20:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/energi.media\/?p=60859"},"modified":"2023-11-12T10:20:09","modified_gmt":"2023-11-12T18:20:09","slug":"alberta-ready-to-compete-with-saudis-china-in-global-materials-transition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/energi.media\/energi-notes\/alberta-ready-to-compete-with-saudis-china-in-global-materials-transition\/","title":{"rendered":"Alberta ready to compete with Saudis, China in global materials transition"},"content":{"rendered":"

Maybe it\u2019s time to think of advanced materials as Alberta’s future<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Calgary hosted the 24th World Petroleum Congress in September and my favourite moment was a happy accident. Strolling along, checking out newsworthy technical presentations, I stumbled upon one about making materials (think carbon fibre) from hydrocarbons. The scientists on the stage caught my eye.<\/span><\/p>\n

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From left to right: Dr. Ibrahim Abba, Saudi Aramco; Dr. Paolo Bomben, Alberta Innovates; Dr. Mazim Tamimi, Saudi Aramco; Dr. Dongyue Peng, SINOPEC Research Institute of Petroleum Engineering.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Moderator Dr. Ibrahim Abba is the head of Saudi Aramco\u2019s technology commercialization division. One of the panelists was his lead research scientist and another was a senior engineer at China\u2019s SINOPEC Research Institute of Petroleum Engineering. But the fourth presenter, Alberta\u2019s Innovate\u2019s Dr. Paolo Bomben, is what really piqued my interest.<\/span><\/p>\n

Not many Albertans know that their province is a global leader in the research to turn oil and gas into a variety of materials. Dr. Bomben, along with his colleague Dr. Bryan Helfenbaum, has been at the forefront of that effort. I\u2019ve interviewed both of them many times about the Bitumen Beyond Combustion<\/a> program and the Carbon Fibre Grand Challenge<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

A point they come back to again and again is that their research is at that tenuous stage where well-heeled competitors, like Saudi Arabia and China, could significantly expand funding and overtake Alberta.<\/span><\/p>\n

Why should Albertans – and Canadians in general, frankly – be worried about that possibility? Dr. Abba provided the answer. In addition to the energy transition, he said during his opening remarks, the world is also at the beginning of a materials transition.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A materials transition? Huh. (below, watch my interview about the materials transition with Dr. Bomben)<\/span><\/p>\n