Man in a hard hat consults tablet while standing in front of a transmission line. By Marla Orenstein and Ashley Meller Originally published in Canada's National Observer , Jan. 27, 2026

By Keren Perla and Ailsa Popilian Originally published in The Hub , December 13, 2025

Think pipelines are the central feature of Alberta and Ottawa's MOU? Think again. There’s a deeper shift underway — one that could reshape Canada’s role in the global energy economy.

Lab Fellows gathered in September for the 2025 Fall Fellowship Workshop to continue to unpack investigations into cross-cutting tensions dampening energy transition efforts and put insights gleaned into action. Fellows Demetria Zinyemba and Jennifer Young recap the workshop's highlights and provide a summary of the processes that led to the creation of the Fellowship's 2025-26 portfolio of initiatives.

SERIES: PART 3 of 3 When a range of opportunities is on the table, spreading bets can lead to big wins — but success relies on the strategies used. Alberta can hedge across a number of emerging energy and resource sectors, yet the real challenge is where to place those bets to maximize future success. In the   first   and   second   parts of this series we introduced 16 low-emission opportunities and scratched the surface on ways to evaluate them, focusing on the potential si

Originally published on LinkedIn  | July 3, 2025 Contributors: Keren Perla , Ailsa Popilian SERIES: PART 2 of 3 Driving competitiveness as markets shift In the first part  of this series, we made the case that in today’s landscape diversification into low-carbon opportunities is a no regret move for Alberta and identified three categories of opportunity where Alberta has a potential edge: clean energy enablers, exportable business solutions, and low-emission product plays. Bu

Originally published on LinkedIn  | June 4, 2025 Contributors: Keren Perla , Ailsa Popilian SERIES: PART 1 of 3 Energy is having a surprisingly unifying moment in the Canadian public discourse. The talk of becoming an “ energy superpower ” is getting serious and inevitably, Alberta will have skin in the game. In the era of energy co-existence, where traditional and low-carbon solutions develop side-by-side, Alberta’s mix of resources, talent, and infrastructure should put it

A lot was on the line back in May of 2024. A small conference room on Tsuut’ina lands to the west of Calgary was filled with...

Accelerating Investment in Emerging Net-Zero Aligned Energy Industries a Clear Priority Budget 2023 offered a much-needed response to...

In the global race to reach net-zero and decarbonize, Canada should be the bookie’s favorite. Long renowned as a nation of both abundant...

The Energy Futures Lab’s Grid Sandbox Innovation Platform  The evolving grid  In 2022 it’s easy to take the flip of a light switch for granted. For the most part, people are accustomed to a dependable grid, meaning the intricate systems that provide access to safe, uninterrupted, and affordable electricity are often obscured. But uninterrupted power isn’t a given; it’s the result of a careful balancing act that can be tipped off kilter by any number of different factors.  Tha

Canada has the raw materials and commodities that the world is increasingly desperate for today, and the innovation capital to turn them into the future-fit energy that will be in demand for generations to come. ... Nobody ever said the energy transition would be easy, but few likely imagined it would be this chaotic. In retrospect, it was probably tempting to think that the transition to a low-emission economy could be a gentle and gradual affair. Well, so much for that. Wit

The Energy Futures Lab contributes to a growing battery metals industry The EV Revolution Every so often, humans stumble upon a resource that accelerates our progress in unimaginable ways. With the discovery of fire, we learned to illuminate the world around us, unearthing countless new opportunities. We learned to harness the wind and the sun, we made something of bitumen and natural gas. Each of these discoveries allowed us to move forward in leaps and bounds. But at the he

By Guest Contributor Matthew Rygus   Gathered together at the beautiful Ampersand building in downtown Calgary, attendees at the Energy Futures Lab 2022 Youth Innovation Jam devoted an entire Saturday to the energy transition. With the intention of driving equitable and sustainable solutions for our world’s energy issues, the event started off on a passionate note with a speech that literally brought tears to eyes. It set the tone for the rest of the event, making it clear th

How can Alberta’s economy continue to attract investment in a net-zero future? Over the last year, great minds in finance, policy, advocacy, and systems change have come together through the Energy Futures Policy Collaborative to answer this question, and Smart Prosperity Institute has been both a participant and an advisor on the process. One key finding has been that decades of extracting oil and gas has given Alberta the tools to excel in other sectors, if the right polici

Innovators . Entrepreneurial. Ambitious. This is how Albertans have long described themselves, a story often centred around our successful development of the oil sands, Alberta’s most consequential bet. But now the province is faced with a difficult question to reconcile: is this who we are or just who we were? This question will be answered one way or the other, whether we respond to it directly or not. Quite simply, some forces are bigger than Alberta. The question we shoul

As members of the Energy Futures Policy Collaborative, we spend a lot of time thinking about the future (it’s right in the name!). One way of thinking about policy is as a stated direction for how we might collectively  be  in the future, alongside the boundaries and incentives that we think might help us get there. To carve out a successful path using policy, we try to imagine and understand what pitfalls and opportunities might be just over the horizon. To help us figure th

A just transition to net-zero won’t be easy and anyone who claims it will be is either kidding themselves or ignoring the complexities of this challenge. The truth is, net-zero by 2050 is a tall order. Pair that with the need to enable a just transition and there’s a challenge spanning whole new heights. But that’s not to say that creating a more inclusive and equitable net-zero future is out of reach. With government and business leaders getting ready to converge in Glasgow

How the federal and Alberta governments can support investment in low-carbon activities that build on Alberta’s strengths Una Jefferson is a Research Associate at the Smart Prosperity Institute. She is a member of the working group for the Energy Futures Policy Collaborative. Albertans think their economy is too dependent on oil and gas, according to  a 2020 poll . Albertan firms are already working on repurposing assets from Alberta’s hydrocarbon industry towards economic ac

We are surrounded by technical achievements — often near-miraculous, even if they may get taken for granted. The electricity grid that delivers a safe, constant and predictable stream of on-demand energy. Communication systems that allow real-time conversations with people on the other side of the earth. Networks of food delivery that allows us to enjoy fresh, safe, and relatively inexpensive produce in all seasons. Each of these ‘miracles’ actually represents a complex syste