Energy Futures Lab Welcomes Richard Hiller as Director, Future Materials Alliance

The Energy Futures Lab (EFL) is pleased to announce the Richard Hiller as Director, Future Materials Alliance. 

In this role, Hiller will lead the Lab’s Future Materials Alliance initiative to advance a more integrated and competitive critical materials ecosystem in Canada, driving strategy to action across policy, industry, and investment.

Hiller has extensive experience integrating energy systems, policy, and economic development. Throughout his career, he has worked across governments and with industry to translate technical, geopolitical, and economic considerations into clear strategies and coordinated action.

Most recently, Hiller served as Executive Director of Energy Transition with the Government of Alberta, where he led implementation of Alberta’s Minerals Strategy and Action Plan and advanced intergovernmental and stakeholder collaboration across western and northern Canada on critical minerals development. Throughout his career, Richard has played a key role in shaping energy strategies, including leadership on Alberta’s Hydrogen Roadmap, Natural Gas Vision and Strategy, and emerging areas such as geothermal, nuclear energy and small modular reactors, while operating at the centre of government and Cabinet decision making. 

This appointment comes at a pivotal moment, as global demand accelerates and jurisdictions compete to secure their critical minerals supply chains. Canada has a significant opportunity to move beyond extraction and strengthen its position in processing, manufacturing, and advanced materials, while reinforcing Canada’s security and economic future.

Realizing this opportunity will require coordinated action across sectors, alignment between policy and investment, and new models of collaboration. Underpinning this is the need for sustainable development of resources, energy systems, and transition materials that take into account the impacts on people, communities and the environment. “The path forward is not simple, but the cost of standing still is far greater. In critical materials, our window will not stay open for long. This is our moment to lead, build, and align together” says Hiller.

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“The path forward is not simple, but the cost of standing still is far greater. In critical materials, our window will not stay open for long. This is our moment to lead, build, and align together"

-Richard Hiller

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As Director of the Future Materials Alliance, Hiller will play a key role in advancing this work through convening diverse actors, navigating complexity, and enabling progress toward a more resilient and competitive materials ecosystem.

“Richard brings the kind of cross-system experience this work demands,” said Alison Cretney, Executive Director of the Energy Futures Lab. “His ability to bring clarity to complexity and build alignment across diverse actors will be a real asset as we work to build Canada’s low emission future, where critical minerals and materials are crucial to the energy transition.” 

Together with the recent appointment of Marla Orenstein as Director, Partnerships & Impact, this addition further strengthens the Energy Futures Lab’s ability to drive impact in an area that is increasingly vital to communities, economic resilience, and the global energy transition, as demand grows for the minerals and materials that underpin modern life.