Innovation Anthology #49: Associate Dean, Diversity
The search for renewable energy has focused the spotlight on biofuels to drive our cars.
Ethanol can be produced from crops like grain or corn and blended with conventional gasoline at a concentration of 5 to 10 percent.
Countries in Europe and South America have been doing this for some time, but Canada is lagging behind.
Dr. Kurt Klein is an economist at the University of Lethbridge. With funding from Biocap Canada and SSHRC, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, he’s looking at some of the problems we have to overcome before a biofuels industry can take hold in Canada.
DR. KURT KLEIN: We have many logistical issues. For example, most of our surplus agricultural production is in western Canada in the prairie region where we can produce a lot of ethanol. But most of our cars are in Toronto and Montreal and other places in eastern Canada, a long ways away from where the ethanol will be produced. Since we can’t put the ethanol into pipelines to get it there, we need to find a way that’s cost effective to get the ethanol to where it will actually be used.
Dr. Klein says one option is to ship the ethanol we produce in western Canada to the United State in exchange for ethanol they produce in the east.
Thanks today to The University of Lethbridge.
FOR INNOVATION ANTHOLOGY, I’M CHERYL CROUCHER
Guest
Margaret-Ann Armour, PhD,
University of Alberta, Faculty of Science, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, margaret-ann.armour@ualberta.ca
Sponsor
University of Lethbridge
In 2007 The University of Lethbridge celebrated its 40th anniversary. The U of L campus is home to the world renowned Canadian Centre for Behavioral Neuroscience. The University is also a centre of expertise on water and remote sensing.
For more interviews with University of Lethbridge researchers, check out the website for Innovation Alberta. (2001-2008)
Program Date: 2007-07-17