COSIA: ARCTIC Hot Water Production Challenge
The Hot Water Production Challenge sought innovative solutions to improve energy efficiency, reduce emissions, and enhance sustainability in industrial systems. Combustion & Energy Systems Ltd. was named the winner of the Challenge.
WINNERS
ConDex technology from Combustion & Energy Systems Ltd.
Combustion and Energy Systems Ltd. was selected as the winner of the Mining Hot Water Production Challenge for their innovative ConDex solution. Combustion and Energy Systems is a leading global supplier of custom designed, proprietary and patented condensing heat recovery and energy efficiency systems to industrial and institutional clients worldwide.
By improving the energy efficiency of customer’s power plants and processes, they save clients money on fuel costs, reduce their carbon emissions, and recover reusable water through the use of their Condex systems—a custom designed condensing heat recovery and energy efficiency system.
PARTNERS
Canada's Oil Sands Innovation Alliance (COSIA)
COSIA is a unique alliance of oil sands producers focused on accelerating environmental performance in Canada’s oil sands.
COSIA enables collaboration and innovation between thinkers from industry, government, academia and the wider public to improve measurement, accountability and performance in the oil sands across four environmental priority areas of Greenhouse Gases, Land, Water, and Tailings.
COSIA members search the world for solutions to our toughest problems. COSIA’s Water EPA aspires to be world leaders in water management, producing Canadian energy with no adverse impact on water.
Alberta Innovates
Alberta Innovates drives research and innovation by providing funding, services, and expertise to post-secondary researchers, entrepreneurs, and industry.
They advance innovations that benefit people, protect the environment, and help diversify the economy. Our programs and activities span sectors. They build on Alberta’s strengths in traditional industries and create new opportunities in emerging technology areas.
CHALLENGE LAUNCH: 2016
Challenge Outcomes
For Combustion & Energy Systems Ltd., the Challenge allowed them to pilot their solution, which led to a commercial-scale installation. As the company’s largest installation to date, the ConDex systems at the Kearl site successfully navigated extreme environmental conditions, serving as a powerful validation of the team’s technical expertise and engineering capabilities.
For Imperial Oil, one of COSIA's member clients, this project represented a significant step toward their sustainability objectives of achieving net-zero operations by 2050. The winning solution reduced emissions and water use intensity, resulting in Imperial installing six large-scale units from the Combustion & Energy Systems Ltd.
Currently, at the going market rate, it costs roughly $1,000 to remove one tonne of CO2 using existing CCUS technologies. By investing in this challenge—$15.6M for the initial demonstration project involving one unit—Imperial saved $29.4M.
Ten years later, and the project has surpassed all targets in energy savings, water recovery, and carbon emission reductions:
Over 220k+ tonnes of CO2 eliminated
Over 100,000 m³ of water recovered annually
Reduced Natural Gas Usage
$29.4M Saved
The technology is made in Canada, by an Ontario-based technology company, deployed in Alberta by a Canadian company, and supports Canadian industry. It’s a success story of Canadian collaboration and expertise.
Devon Koroluk Manager of Heavy Oil Mining Research, Imperial
To remain competitive in a shifting global market—and to achieve ambitious net zero goals—it is crucial for Canada to adopt advanced solutions that optimize operational efficiency, significantly reduce emissions, and conserve critical water resources.
Challenge Statement
COSIA worked with Foresight to source and vet technological solutions that could replace or supplement conventional hot water production approaches in either new or existing mining operations without using existing (or new) steam resources for heat exchange purposes.
Challenge Opportunity
Oil sands mining and extraction processes require commercial scale hot water in the 20-90 °C range, which is typically produced indirectly through contact with steam produced in natural gas fired boilers, and cogeneration units and waste heat.
Challenge Background
As the third of six ARCTIC program initiatives, the Hot Water Production Challenge was designed to implement a “demand-pull” innovation strategy, directly addressing the technical and sustainability needs of Western Canada’s primary resource industries. ARCTIC focused on helping resource companies increase their competitiveness by responding to shifting market demands and concerns around responsible development of resources. This was accomplished by making sure that SMEs developing innovative solutions for the resource sector were driven by customer and market requirements.
At the time the project launched in 2014, the G7 group had just called for major cuts in global greenhouse gas emissions and a carbon-free global economy by 2100. Member countries, including Canada, committed to “developing and deploying innovative technologies” to transform the energy sectors by 2050. The ARCTIC project was formed in response, and since its launch, the resource-based cleantech sector has transformed and grown substantially in response to a rapidly changing business and regulatory environment, climate change urgency, and technological advances.
Listen to the Full Story
Updates
2026 - Ten Years Later
A decade since the Challenge's initial launch, and the project has surpassed all targets in energy savings, water recovery, and carbon emission reductions. The Imperial Oil and Combustion & Energy Systems' partnership serves as a cleantech adoption success story.
2021 - 2023: Successful Demonstration and Implimentation
Following a successful demonstration project that delivered energy, water, and cost savings, Imperial moved forward with procuring additional ConDex systems for the Kearl site. Between 2021 and 2023 Combustion and Energy Systems Ltd. delivered five additional large-scale ConDex systems to Imperial.
For Combustion and Energy Systems, the completion of this challenge has acted as a beacon to their customer base. Since the completion of the Mining Hot Water Production Challenge, their team has found clients in many industries, including pulp and paper, food and beverage, chemical production and manufacturing, and others.
March 2018: Winner Announced
The winner, Combustion and Energy Systems, was selected, after which Imperial moved onto the field demonstration phase, which concluded in March, 2020. Following a successful demonstration project that delivered energy, water, and cost savings, Imperial moved forward with procuring additional ConDex systems for the Kearl site.
2016: Challenge Launches
Our Partners
This Challenge is powered by COSIA and Alberta Innovates with Delphi Group and Tessellate participating as Challenge Coordinators.
Find Market-Ready Innovation without the Risk
We connect industry with the world's best clean technologies. From agriculture to water to oil and gas, our Challenge program works to connect end-users with cleantech solutions to overcome sustainability and operational hurdles.