Practical research gets room to grow as SAIT opens the doors to its Imperial Energy Innovation Centre
October 9, 2025
The first week of September often signifies new beginnings as kids head back to school and cooler weather sets in. And this year, the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) embarked on a new beginning of its own as it opened the doors to a research facility in Quarry Park, a $37-million lab donated by Imperial.
This 40,000 square foot state-of-the-art facility, named the Imperial Energy Innovation Centre, will serve as a launchpad for applied energy research, bringing together leading experts in petroleum engineering with the next generation of innovators. Together, SAIT and Imperial aim to create an ecosystem to help develop practical solutions to industry challenges.
“This significant investment in innovation will help shape the future of energy in Alberta by bringing together students, researchers and industry professionals to solve the real-world problems we continue to face,” says Myles McDougall, Minister of Advanced Education, who spoke at the grand opening celebration of the lab on September 4.
Imperial has been a leader in innovation for more than a century, so this is a logical partnership for them.
“Since founding our first research department and hiring our first research scientist in 1924, we have innovated continuously to find better solutions,” says John Whelan, Chairman, President and CEO of Imperial. “Many foundational oil sands technologies were born in our labs. And we’re excited to see how this facility will elevate SAIT and industry’s work even further.”
The donation of the lab, which represents the largest corporate gift to a post-secondary institution in Alberta’s history, will support the expansion of SAIT’s energy innovation and applied research program. Students will work side-by-side with industry experts, gaining valuable expertise and having a hands-on environment to test their ideas in.
“[The students are] not just going to study innovation as a theoretical concept, they’re going to be in the lab, and going to the field,” says Jamie McInnis, Director Applied Research and Innovation at SAIT. “This centre will provide unparalleled opportunities for students to interact with industry.”
During the grand opening of the lab, Imperial also announced an additional $300,000 donation to a newly established Imperial Innovative Student Project Fund. The fund will provide critical financial support for students ready to move an idea from theory into practice as they discover real-world solutions to major challenges across industries.
“Today is more than a celebration of a donation, it’s a celebration of a shared purpose. SAIT is a place where ideas are generated, where students roll up their sleeves, and where research doesn’t just live in theory, it lives in practice,” says Whelan.
In addition to the facility’s potential to yield practical energy solutions, it’s also primed to produce the next generation of industry talent, as critical skills will have a space to be identified and honed.
“I think Imperial’s gift speaks, not only to the research and the innovation within the industry, but the need for that next generation of talent and what’s it going to look like. What are those entry-level jobs going to be?” says Dr. David Ross, President and CEO of SAIT. “This facility, I believe, speaks volumes to that question. To be able to go into a nimble facility where we can innovate – not only around the research – but [around the] skills people need.”
This partnership between Imperial and SAIT serves as an example of how working together can help add to the momentum of energy innovation.
“Collaboration has always and will always be critical to Imperial’s and industry’s success. Our involvement in Pathways, COSIA and institutions like SAIT only make us stronger,” says Whelan.
One example is a research project planned to take place at the innovation centre, focused on reducing buildup, erosion and corrosion in Once-Through Steam Generators (OTSGs), boilers that generate steam used in in-situ extraction processes. Researchers will have access to three pilot-scale OTSGs in the centre.
This five-year, $2-million research project is a true collaboration, overseen by SAIT’s Centre for Energy Research and Clean Unconventional Technology Solutions, with involvement from COSIA (the innovation arm of Pathways), the University of Calgary, the University of Alberta and supported in part by funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.
With these and other projects already in the hopper, Imperial prepares to embark on this new beginning with SAIT into the future of energy research.
“The work our research team has done in this lab and in labs that predated this one has been critical to the success of our industry and our company. And now we’re passing the torch. Not to step back, but to step forward together. Progressing into the future in the spirit of collaboration,” says Whelan.
