ALBERTA RESEARCH COUNCIL

Established as the first provincial research organization in Canada, the Alberta Research Council is 82 years old. The Alberta Research Council (ARC) develops and commercializes technologies to give customers a competitive advantage. A leader in innovation, ARC provides solutions globally to the energy, life sciences, agriculture, environment, forestry and manufacturing sectors.

R&D AN IMPORTANT ECONOMIC DRIVER

ARC performs about five per cent of the roughly $1.5 billion in R&D done in Alberta each year, and generates revenues of approximately $84 million per year. The corporation is unique in that it sits in the middle of the innovation continuum - converting raw ideas and knowledge emerging from curiosity-driven fundamental research to technology that is market-ready. ARC operates from five sites across the province (2 sites in Edmonton, plus Calgary, Vegreville and Devon) and employs more than 600 highly-skilled people.

SIGNIFICANT EARLY ACCOMPLISHMENTS

1926 Published first geological map of Alberta which charted the extensive coal reserves in the province under the direction of Dr. John Allan (right) (Photo courtesy University of Alberta Archives).

1929 Dr. Karl Clark paatented the hot-water extraction process for separating oil from oilsands. The process laid the groundwork for modern day producers Syncrude, Suncor and Shell Canada

EnviroFlocTM, new effluent treatment technology for food processing industry, developed by Epsilon Chemicals Ltd. (E-CHEM) of Edmonton and ARC.

Zimarc, a new initiative for developing and commercializing specialized materials and components for use in the manufacture of high performance electronic devices

A first in Canada, the Alberta Research Council (ARC) reached a milestone in November 2002, in the technical development of its own version of solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) technology as a source of energy for small-scale portable applications such as laptops or personal digital assistants (PDAs)

Telehealth interoperability laboratory in Calgary to develop guidelines for telehealth systems. ARC's standards were presented by the Canadian Institute for Health Information at the International Standards Organization meeting in Tokyo for consideration in international use.

TO CONTACT ALBERTA RESEARCH COUNCIL

Website: www.arc.ab.ca

Telephone: 780-450-5111 (Edmonton)
403-210-5222 (Calgary)
780-632-8211 (Vegreville)

Alberta Research Council
250 Karl Clark Road
Edmonton, Alberta
T6N 1E4