“Reimagine: to imagine again or anew; to form a new conception of.”
Reimagine, it’s a powerful word – a word that can help shape the legacy we leave behind for the next generation and change the way we do business today. Today, CO2 emissions from fossil fuels are a leading contributor to climate change and are seen as a waste product. Through COSIA, members are reducing CO2 emissions through collaborative action and innovation. Through the NRG COSIA Carbon XPRIZE, they will also be asking the world to reimagine CO2 as building block for a better future.
This NRG COSIA Carbon XPRIZE will challenge the world to reimagine what we can do with CO2 emissions by incentivizing the development of technologies that convert emissions into valuable products. It means being at the forefront of finding viable solutions to solving one of the biggest issues on the planet – a key component of COSIA’s mandate.
COSIA is an alliance of oil sands producers focused on accelerating the pace of improvement in environmental performance in Canada’s oil sands. Through COSIA, companies capture, develop and share the most innovative approaches and best thinking to improve their environmental performance.
We’re constantly improving when it comes to reducing our CO2 emissions. Fossil fuels will continue to be a meaningful part of the global energy mix for some time, so it’s important that we continue to make efforts to reduce emissions and manage their environmental impact. COSIA members are making progress, but they want to accelerate progress and continuously improve.
The NRG COSIA Carbon XPRIZE will help attract new and fresh perspectives from around the world, and potentially from unexpected places, to accelerate technological innovation in CO2 conversion; contributing to the discovery and development of promising new and emerging technologies that have the potential to positively affect the current state of global CO2 emissions. It will promote the view that we can tackle the causes of climate change and contribute to a cleaner energy future, together. It embodies everything COSIA works towards every day.
With our commitment to the Carbon XPRIZE, COSIA‘s member companies have taken the next step in finding a solution. We have experienced first-hand that collaboration and innovation is the best way to be part of the conversation about our energy future. The participating members of this partnership believe in highlighting the opportunity to not only reduce CO2 emissions, but also turn them into something valuable. We know, as do the XPRIZE Foundation and our co-sponsor NRG, that the next great idea or solution can come from anyone, anywhere and that an idea can ignite a movement.
By focusing on technology and attracting innovators from around the world we can reach out to innovators globally to drive solutions. This prize is but one example of how oil sands companies are working together, building on each other’s expertise and collaborating globally.
COSIA member companies are committed to a cleaner and more sustainable energy future. Through this prize we are asking the world to join us in reimagining CO2 and all its possibilities.
Dan Wicklum is the Chief Executive of COSIA (Canada’s Oil Sands Innovation Alliance), a position he took in March 2012. COSIA was set up by industry to enable responsible and sustainable growth of Canada’s oil sands while delivering accelerated improvement in environmental performance through collaborative action and innovation. To date, COSIA’s member companies have shared 777 technologies worth over $950 million. Its member companies are now actively working on 225 joint industry projects worth $450 million across COSIA’s four Environmental Priority Areas – land, water, tailings and greenhouse gasses. He also serves on the Board of the Climate Change and Emissions Management Corporation (CCEMC).
Prior to joining COSIA, Dan occupied various senior positions for Environment Canada and Natural Resources Canada, including Director General of Wildlife and Landscape Science, Director General of Water Science and Technology, and Director of Strategic Alliances. He was a Senior Policy Advisor to the Canadian Federal Minister of Natural Resources and the Government House Leader, and he launched and was the Executive Director of The Canadian Forest Innovation Council.
Dan has a Ph.D. in Aquatic Ecology (University of Montana, 1998) and was a Research Assistant Professor at the University of Montana. He was also a linebacker for the 1988 Grey Cup Champions, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.