Wind turbines and hockey sticks could one day be made with Alberta oilsands

Alberta scientists have developed a new way to upgrade oilsands and the resulting product could one day end up in the hands of hockey players at the local rink.
 

A carbon fibre production facility — the first of its kind in Canada — is now open in Edmonton, and it uses bitumen from the Alberta oilsands.
 

“An entirely new manufacturing sector could be born serving both existing and entirely new markets for this low cost, low emissions carbon fibre,” Bryan Helfenbaum, a vice-president at Aberta Innovates, said Friday.
 

“This would have a meaningful impact on both GDP and emissions at the same time.”
 

Comprised of thin strands of carbon atoms, carbon fibre is known for its light weight and strong textile strength, which has made it popular for high-performance products throughout the world. 
 

From hypercars to hockey sticks, carbon fibre is increasingly used in a variety of industries and continues to have a growing global market.
 

The facility is based on 
work by
 John Zhou, a former vice-president
with Alberta Innovates
, who aimed to turn the oilsands into higher-value products, like carbon fibre.
 

“(Zhou) and others realized that while the history and the infrastructure of the oilsands industry was focused on fuels, the chemistry of Alberta’s bitumen provided potential advantages for advanced materials production,” said Helfenbaum.
 

Beyond carbon fibre, the materials could be used to bind asphalt or as components in sodium-ion batteries. By avoiding burning bitumen as a form of fuel, the materials also present an emissions reduction opportunity.
 

Of the advanced materials, carbon fibre may offer the most versatility. Once used only in the most elite sports cars to reduce weight and improve performance, carbon fibre can now be found in all kinds of products including wind turbines, aerospace parts and even in the soles of marathon running shoes. 
 

Carbon fibre, which can be 10 times stronger than steel, conducts heat and electricity, which is why it’s such a
popular 
material on the global market, producing more than 120,000 tons per year, according to Helfenbaum. The size and growth of the market is what makes it so appealing for Alberta to get in on.
 

According to Alberta Innovates, upgrading oilsands into different materials could theoretically increase the value of the resource, potentially generating as much as $40 billion in annual revenue at full, commercial scale.
 

Alberta Natural Resources Minister Brian Jean said the applications of bitumen in the carbon fibre market open the doors for significant environmental benefits in the province beyond fuel production. It could also present an economic windfall by upgrading the value of bitumen in creating these materials.
 

“We can build amazing things out of these amazing products,” Jean said, adding only a fraction of Canada’s vast oilsands reserves can be processed into fuel.
 

“We have so much more product there that can do other things, innovative things, creative things, and bring wealth to the people of northern Alberta, of northern B.C., and all of Canada,” he said.
 

The facility, which officially launched at the Alberta Innovates building on Friday, acts as an incubator for businesses looking to manufacture carbon fibre.
 

It already has its first client, 
Fibrenx Technologies
, which is looking to scale up its operations and fill orders for samples of its products, something it couldn’t do at its current space at the University of British Columbia
 

“(With) this line today, we’re able to produce kilograms of fibres that we can ship to end users,” said Fibrenx president and COO Yasmine Abdin. “Once they see it in their products and test it using their own facilities, then we’re able to (build) our own manufacturing facility,” said Abdin, adding that the business is eyeing Fort McMurray as a potential home to its own future facility.
 

The Edmonton operation has two carbon fibre processing machine lines. The first is a relatively small lab-scale continuous fibre line, used to create smaller test products, like a single hockey stick, which it produced two years ago. The second is a bigger carbon fibre machine that, at peak operation, can produce up to one tonne of carbon fibre per year.
 

The path that Abdin’s company is taking aligns with what Alberta Innovates set 
years ago
. The short-term goal is to foster the growth of the carbon fibre manufacturing industry in Alberta using oilsands bitumen by 
helping businesses develop their products
 and then scale up. 

zdelaney@postmedia.com

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