A new clean technology department launching at the University of Calgary is receiving more than $4 million in federal support.
UCalgary’s recently formed Centre for Far-From-Equilibrium Nanostructured Cleantech Materials, known as CeFar, has garnered $4.25M from the Canada Foundation for Innovation Innovation Fund.
The investment will allow CeFar, which unites 10 existing labs in the Schulich School of Engineering and Faculty of Science, to expand research capabilities, including adding state-of-the-art equipment for scientists to observe and manipulate materials with high precision.
“‘Far-from-equilibrium’ materials are extremely difficult to study,” says Dr. Milana Trifkovic, PhD, associate dean of research innovation and strategic partnerships with Schulich, who co-leads the centre with fellow professor Dr. Kunal Karan. “They evolve dynamically in real time and at the nano scale.”
CeFar researchers want to unlock the behaviour of these technologies to develop a new generation of materials for batteries, fuel cells, electrolyzers, photovoltaics and critical mineral extraction.
“We are extremely grateful for the CFI Innovation Fund,” Trifkovic stated.
CeFar aims to bridge the gap between optimized science and the market, according to Trifkovic.
To do this, the organization is comprised of 10 lead researchers and their teams, who each work on one area. For example, one group innovates small particles to form more useful material structures, while another uses imaging tools to see how those materials behave when tested, while yet another is dedicating to turning such tech into tangible device.
And, “If you want to go towards net zero,” Trifkovic posits, “it boils down to understanding how do we actually make these technologies more accessible in terms of cost, how do we prolong their durability and how do we enhance their efficiencies?”
“Because that’s the major bottleneck to their widespread adoption today,” she says.