This project will integrate normal temperature battery (NTB) that is cheap but only can discharge above-20?, and low temperature battery (LTB) that is expensive but can work at -40? into an insulated housing with a smart hybrid battery management system. And a heat pipe with design trigger temperature will be integrated to the housing to prevent overheating of NTB, which will ensure the hybrid battery can work properly in both hot and cold environment.

Salt splitting is a technology in which an electrochemical cell containing 2 membranes to transport positive and negative ions, is used to produce sulfuric acid and caustic soda from sodium sulfate, a compound found commonly from industrial brine streams. Salt splitting electrolysis is a sustainable solution for the expanding markets of acid and caustic recovery and treatment of neutralization waste products, which would otherwise be disposed.

Supercapacitors are electrochemical energy storage devices that promise fast charge-discharge rate, high power density, and long cycle life. However, low energy density, high cost, and safety risk of supercapacitors are yet to be addressed in order to deploy the technology into wholesale grid storage. This research project will design low-cost and high-performance electrode and electrolyte for supercapacitors.

Currently, the traditional use of the dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) is well-known in the science community as an effective photovoltaic technology, where it works best in diffuse lighting conditions. With the insights brought from this research project, the DSSC can also be transformed into an optically sensing motion sensor based on the dye utilized within it. This project will focus on synthesizing a family of organic dyes that absorb in the near-infrared region, optimal for detecting movement. The second half of the project will utilize those dyes in device fabrication.

Synauta is a startup bringing the world's best Internet of Things solutions to water utilities. Our deep industry knowledge prepares utilities for true connectivity to realize energy savings. We provide cyber security, sensors and software. In this project we will create a temperature prediction algorithm to save energy for water treatment plants. More energy can be saved if operators can plan to make more treated water when temperatures are high and less treated water when temperatures are lower. Over a week, the amount of water produced would be the same, but less energy would be used.

EPCOR Distribution and Transmission Inc., an electric utility based in Edmonton is carrying out inspections on a fixed time interval for all of its distribution assets. In the case of pad-mounted distribution transformers, many of the time-based inspections resulted in the decision of “no action required”. This project aims to investigate the inspection data and develop a simple mathematical model to define the optimal inspection schedule for pad-mounted distribution transformers. This project will reduce the inspection costs of EPCOR Distribution and Transmission Inc.

Municipal wastewater contains excessive nutrients, which when discharged without sufficient treatment can cause eutrophication in the receiving water bodies. Digested sludge liquor, the produce water generated from the treatment of sludge that is produced from municipal wastewater treatment plant contains high concentrations of ammonia that is toxic to aquatic biota and requires further treatment.

Recent studies have called into question the Linear No Threshold (LNT) model of radiation protection, which predicts a linear increase in cancer risk with low-dose radiation exposure. However, current experimental evidence suggests that low-dose radiation (LDR,