WISE Hosted Workshops

Be part of the future of clean energy at our upcoming Hydrogen Workshop!

Explore the latest hydrogen production, storage, and application innovations in various industries. This workshop offers a unique opportunity to dive deep into the science behind hydrogen technology, its environmental impact, and its role in shaping a sustainable energy future.

When: March 3

Where: EC5 -1111

Time: 8:30 am- 3:30 pm

Whether you’re a researcher, engineer, or enthusiast, join us to learn, collaborate, and drive the hydrogen revolution forward!

Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) Visit to WISE June 17-19, 2024

The Cybersecurity and Privacy Institute (CPI) along with the Waterloo Institute for Sustainable Energy (WISE) organized the inaugural CPI Student Seminar, which took place April 24th, featuring Prof. Pirathayini Srikantha, Associate Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at York University.

WISE hosted the Ontario Cambrian Formation workshop organized by Dick Jackson, University Of Waterloo.

Waterloo Institute for Sustainable Energy (WISE) hosted their 2023 Annual General Meeting on November 30th, 2023, from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm.

WISE hosted the Geothermal Workshop, a 1.5-day hybrid (in-person and online) workshop, held at the University of Waterloo on July 27 and 28, 2023.

The 2023 Summer School showcased leading-edge research from a wide array of University of Waterloo professors at the interface of water, climate, and energy.

A Sustainable Futures Initiative, the summer school was hosted by the water institute, the climate institute and the Waterloo Institute For Sustainable Energy (WISE) and aimed at senior undergraduate and graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, practitioners and interested stakeholders.

WISE hosted an Ammonia Workshop on May 09, 2023.

WISE along with WCI, WISA, and Water Institute, hosted a day-long Net-Zero workshop to highlight key projects and research related to Net-Zero. University of Waterloo professors, researchers, and industry partners presented their projects and research in three panels:

Panel 1: Renewable Energy Technologies
Panel 2: Net-Zero Communities
Panel 3: Sustainable Transportation

WISE organized a virtual Geothermal Meeting among some of the various industrial, government and academic groups just to establish contact and exchange information related to the use of geothermal energy and the potential for seasonal storage of low-grade heat.

NRCan and the University of Waterloo hosted a periodic workshop for heavy industry in Southern Ontario including the steel, cement, gas fired power, oil refining and petrochemical sectors. These are known as the hard-to-abate industries with respect to abatement of CO2 emissions.

The Sustainable Futures Initiative aims to make the University of Waterloo a global leader in sustainability research, education and innovation for the benefit of the environment, economy and society. The initiative would build on and elevate the research, education and innovation activities taking place within and across three of Waterloo’s research institutes: the Waterloo Climate Institute, the Waterloo Institute for Sustainable Energy and the Water Institute. The initiative would catalyze new collaborations that will unlock solutions for greater impact and provide a more holistic approach to achieving the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals in Canada and elsewhere.

The Conference was organized by the Waterloo Institute for Sustainable Energy of the University of Waterloo, and the University of Calgary. The International Institute of Research and Education in Power System Dynamics (IREP) International Steering Committee and the Local Organizing Committee cordially welcomed the power systems experts to the 11th Bulk Power Systems Dynamics and Control Symposium – IREP’2022 in Banff. The timely and relevant theme of the Banff Symposium was “A 100% Renewable Energy Source Bulk Power Grid: Opportunities and Challenges.” As with previous meetings and as part of IREP’s custom, there were many opportunities for distinctive social engagements and interactions amidst the exceptional and beautiful settings of the Canadian Rockies.

The 14th International Green Energy Conference (IGEC-XIV) was held virtually on July 4-8, 2022.

The IGEC is a multi–disciplinary conference on energy systems and technologies with no/reduced environmental, economic and social impact, and provides a forum for the exchange of technical information, for the dissemination of high-quality research results, and for the debate and shaping of future directions and priorities in energy sustainability and security.

The workshop brings together an executive forum intended to encourage the exchange of ideas that will help create a roadmap to guide the future of green hydrogen and energy storage research in Canada

Ambika Opal presented at the Pembina Institute’s Renewables in Remote Communities conference in April 2022. The topic of her presentation was Global Community Energy Stories. She used examples of communities in the AE4H initiative and compared energy access challenges to those in remote communities in Canada.

On March 23 and 24, 2022, WISE conducted five panel discussions as part of the Worldwide Teach-in on Climate Justice, engaging more than 100 students from the University of Waterloo. WISE facilitated over 30 Teach-in events across Africa and South Asia through AE4H partners, that occurred between February and July 2022.

Ambika Opal, Manager of Global Programs and Initiatives at WISE participated in a side event at COP26 run by Indigenous Clean Energy, titled “Indigenous Renewable Energy Microgrids for Energy Transition ‘Just Climate Energy’”. Ambika shared highlights of how remote, islanded, coastal, and Indigenous communities are using renewable microgrids as a solution for community energy needs.

Ambika Opal conducted a presentation at the World Forum on Climate Justice along with other regional co-leaders of the Worldwide Teach-in on Climate Justice. Ambika shared how energy access is an intrinsic part of climate justice, and how AE4H members are working towards climate justice.

In September 2021, Dr. Jatin Nathwani and Ambika Opal facilitated an Innovation Lab for approximately 40 participants of the S-@ccess conference. This Innovation Lab saw experts working together across disciplines to design solutions to real global challenges regarding energy access.

In keeping with the ‘Innovation Lab’ framework of the Waterloo Institute for Sustainable Energy, participants from the University of Waterloo and the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi were selected for an event focused on sustainability topics.

The webinar was hosted by the Waterloo Institute for Sustainable Energy (WISE) and the Interdisciplinary Centre on Climate Change (IC3). The featured speakers explored a range of climate solutions and recommendations as they discussed critical topics like Green Recovery and a Just Transition. This webinar was part of the Solve Climate By 2030 series led by the Bard College in the US. The series is an international movement educating university and high school students about how an ambitious Green Recovery based on local action can put us on the way to solving climate change by 2030.

UWaterloo’s Impact Alliance and Global Spark hosted a virtual solutions hackathon called the “SDG Impact Challenge''. This event partnered with three local organizations who are tackling some of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals: Waterloo Institute for Sustainable Energy (WISE), the Interdisciplinary Centre on Climate Change (IC3) and Food4Kids.

Ambika Opal (WISE Manager, Global Projects and Initiatives) gave a talk at TEDxQueensU. In her presentation, she explored the idea of access to energy as a catalyst for many forms of international development and presented tangible examples from her experience at the United Nations Development Programme Cambodia and current projects at the Waterloo Institute for Sustainable Energy.

WISE co-hosted and sponsored an event in the city of Chennai (India) with the Energy and Fuel Users’ Association of India (ENFUSE), and SRM Institute of Science and Technology (SRMIST) on clean energy access.

The workshop themes consisted of:

Carbon Dioxide Capture – Storage – Conversion,
Electric Mobility – Technology – Infrastructure,
Hydrogen Energy – Commercialization in Industrial Applications,
Smart Energy Networks,
Internet of Things (IOT),
Solid Waste Management and Disposal – Recyclable,
State Space Controller,
Battery Technologies,
Renewable Energy Integration

2019 Energy Day Event was co-hosted by the Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology (WIN) and the Centre for Bioengineering and Biotechnology (CBB).

Panel 1: Energy Services Delivery: Is there a changing of the guard?
Panel 2: Nano-based Energy Innovations: Breakthroughs or Bust?
Panel 3: Bioenergy Solutions: Can it shape the transition to a low carbon futue?r

WISE offered the students an opportunity to showcase their work with a poster during the innovation showcase at Energy Day (2019).

On February 5, 2019 over 600 members of Third Age Learning gathered for this part of the Winter 2019 Tuesday Series - Hotter, Wetter, Wilder: Climate Challenges and the Chase for Solutions.

The Council for Clean & Reliable Energy (CCRE) in partnership with the Waterloo Institute for Sustainable Energy (WISE) hosted its third annual Technology Innovation and Policy Forum on Wednesday November 7, 2018. This important event brought together policy makers, technology innovators, leading researchers and entrepreneurs, to address the alignment of energy policies with the need to foster innovations for a low carbon economy.

Event title: Unlocking Energy Innovation for a ‘Low Cost-Low Carbon’ Economy

Panel 1: The Promise and Perils of Technology Disruption
Panel 2: Financing Energy Businesses: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Buildings constitute a major component of end-use energy. Next generation technologies embedded in “smart” buildings will remain key to a low carbon energy future. This event was a ‘meet-up’ of academic, industry & government experts who came together to share insights & new ideas for our energy future.

The Waterloo Institute for Sustainable Energy and the Canadian Plastics Industry Association co-hosted this 2-day event (June 21 & 22, 2018)

This conference intended to bring together international experts, policy makers, researchers, innovators and entrepreneurs to explore how the advancements in resource recovery technologies and the pursuit of a sustainable economy are changing the way we interact with our world.

The Waterloo Institute for Sustainable Energy (WISE) hosted the Annual Conference for the Tesla Owners Club – Ontario association at the University of Waterloo on May 1st, 2018.

WISE Energy Day 2018 featured three panel sessions that aimed to discuss current and emerging themes in the sustainable energy sector and beyond. Professor Linda Nazar delivered a distinguished Keynote on the topic of '21st Century Promise of Battery Science for a Resilient Future'.

Panel 1: Access to Clean Energy for All: Is Innovation the Problem?
Panel 2: Getting to a Low Carbon World: Capture or Utilize?
Panel 3: Block chain in the Energy Sector: Bust or Bonanza?

The Council for Clean & Reliable Energy (CCRE) in partnership with the Waterloo Institute for Sustainable Energy (WISE), a leading innovation centre at the University of Waterloo, hosted its annual Technology Innovation and Policy Forum on Thursday, November 9, 2017. This event brought together technology developers and innovators, leading researchers and entrepreneurs, industry thought leaders, and policymakers to address the convergence of policy development with technology advances.

Event title: Disruptive Innovation Over the Wires - Business Models for Success

The main goal of this event was to shape the pathways of development for emerging disruptive technologies and to understand the impacts of microgrids embedded on a large scale within the existing distribution networks.

This two-day workshop was organized to explore various options for collaboration between University of Waterloo and University of Strathclyde to advance low-carbon energy initiatives.

WISE hosted the first of its kind Geothermal Symposium and featured distinguished speakers and experts in geothermal energy from across the globe. Participants also included innovators from academia, industry, funding and international agencies with student poster presentations.

The purpose of the event was to advance our understanding of the role of geothermal technologies in providing decarbonized energy to Canadian communities, particularly those in remote and cooler climates. The Symposium brought together technology developers and innovators, leading researchers and entrepreneurs, industry thought leaders, and policymakers to help shape a vision of geothermal energy integration into Canada’s energy future.

This invitation-only event spread over 2.5 days, brought together 40+ leading thinkers from research institutions, the private and public sectors, and NGO and finance organizations in order to identify and scope key areas where collaboration and innovation are needed. An 'Innovation lab' model was utilized as a non-traditional, highly interactive and focused process for participants to work through in order to explore the energy access challenge space. The lab aimed to develop implementable work plans, built on the best practices knowledge, specific expertise, and dependable capacities of participants and other sectoral partners. The AE4H initiative supported the further development of these collaborative projects after the event.

The purpose of the workshop was to advance our understanding of the role of circular economy and carbon reduction initiatives and to identify opportunities to build fiscal capital through the re-designing of ecosystem services infrastructure while respecting environmental limits. The workshop brought together an executive forum designed to encourage the exchange of ideas that will help create a roadmap to guide the future of waste management and resource recovery (including energy demand reduction) research in Canada.

This workshop was part of an international collaboration between Dalian University in China, The University of Waterloo in Canada, Imperial College London in the UK and the International Academy of Ecology and Life Protection Science in Russia. The collaboration explored strategies for green growth through providing a platform for researchers from the four institutions to share case studies that illustrate widely applicable strategies for furthering economic and environmental stewardship aims simultaneously. The workshop was the second in a series, following a meeting at Dalian University in China in 2015. The event featured presentations and panel discussions on three topics: Business Strategies for Green Growth; Cities, Infrastructure and Planning for Sustainability; and The Circular Economy. Speakers presented from the four institutions involved in the collaboration, as well as from external organizations in Canada.

This is a ‘meet-up’ of academic, industry & government experts who come together to share insights & new ideas for our energy future.

Panel presentations, posters & discussions focused on:

Energy Transitions For a Decarbonized Economy: How Fast and at What Cost?
Low Energy Green Buildings: What Can Innovation Do?
Energy Access for Canada's Remote First Nations Communities: If Not Now, When?

Prior to the annual Resource Recovery Partnership Workshop held on June 6 of same year, WISE along with partners at the Canadian Plastics Industry Association, the University of Waterloo and Lafarge arranged a webinar exploring the concept of energy from waste. This hour-long webinar featured Robert Cumming, Lafarge Canada Inc. and Briaan Lisk, Hawthorne Green Key Group.

The Council for Clean and Reliable Energy and the Waterloo Institute for Sustainable Energy (WISE) organized the 1^st annual Technology Innovation and Policy Forum 2016. This inaugural event was intended to bring together policymakers, technology innovators, leading researchers and entrepreneurs, to address the convergence of policy development with technology advances. The goal of the forum was to understand the timing and impact of emerging disruptive technologies on the current policy regime, and to understand the impacts of microgrids embedded on a large scale within existing networks.

Event title: Microgrids & Distributed Energy: Is there a revolution in the making?

On Nov. 17-18, fifty experts from academia, local institutions, government, businesses, and local NGOs from the Waterloo Region met to grapple with the long term energy challenge every region in North America faces—how to end reliance on fossil fuels across residential, business, and transportation sectors.

This forum brought together experts to articulate the pathways for decarbonizing the energy systems utilized in the Waterloo Region. The purpose of the forum was to combine the expertise and insight from these different sectors to find the pathways to a decarbonized energy future. Such pathways describe short term (next 5 years), medium term (next 15 years), and long term (next 35 years) policies and choices which will produce a more prosperous and sustainable energy system.

The Waterloo Institute for Sustainable Energy (WISE) and the Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology (WIN) co-hosted the interactive workshop to provide key information and practical guidance to clean-tech entrepreneurs who want to apply for SDTC funding. Workshop participation can help to better understand the potential fit of your clean-tech solution with SDTC funds, the application process and key evaluation criteria. The workshop was of particular interest to small to medium-sized entrepreneurial businesses and start-ups.

The purpose of this workshop was to bring economically feasible and financially viable clean energy technologies to the market. The academic researchers and start-up ventures presented their ideas, proof of concepts, and technology development proposals with the goal of securing funding for their projects. This event provided an opportunity for the industry leaders and academic researchers to collaborate with each other in order to build tactics for market penetration strategy for their respective developments. The Government of Canada's focus on investments in innovation and entrepreneurial ventures in the clean tech sector is well aligned with the goals of the workshop. Our objective is to advance technological developments for implementation on a large scale.

Salt caverns are widely used around the world for natural gas and crude oil storage, for temporary storage of chemical products and other hydrocarbons, and even for waste disposal. WISE conducted student presentations that focused mainly on the emerging potential of salt caverns as a means of energy storage through cyclic compressed air use. These presentations were the result of a graduate course in the Fall of 2015, and each presentation from each student represented a different question posed. The emphasis, was therefore, on compressed air energy storage, but by no means exclusively.

University of Waterloo technologies and research continue to revolutionize the development of greenhouse gas reduction, contributing to innovative solutions applicable to a variety of industrial sectors. This event provided an opportunity to connect with Waterloo’s research expertise and technologies and explore opportunities for collaboration in the areas of industrial greenhouse gas emission reduction. In particular, this event focused on connecting industry and researchers with interest in the following three categories:

Industrial Point Source
Value Chain
CO₂ Innovations

An overview of potential funding opportunities through Ontario Centres of Excellence and NSERC were also presented.

The Canadian Plastics Industry Association (CPIA) teamed up with WISE and the University of Waterloo to host the third annual, invitation-only Resource Recovery Partnership Workshop on Thursday, June 23, 2016.

The day focused on the relationship between academia, government, and industry.  Workshop participants debated and deliberated on ways of improving the working relationship between these critical sectors and shared ideas and insight about how collaboration will lead to improved waste policy and planning.

This was an AE4H event held in April 2016 in partnership with the Waterloo Global Science Initiative (WGSI) at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Waterloo.

From April 24th to the 27th, 2016, The Waterloo Global Science Initiative hosted OpenAccess Energy, a Summit addressing the global energy access challenge that is motivated by these issues. WGSI’s summits bring together a multidisciplinary, multinational, and multi-generational group of stakeholders for a four-day intensive event where they develop an actionable framework for addressing a complex global issue.

The annual event brought academics, industry, and government experts together to share their insights and optimism for the future. The topics for 2016's panel sessions considered the questions:

Geothermal Energy in Canada: How can research shape the market outcomes?
Electric Mobility Infrastructure: is it a technology or a business model challenge? and
Social and Policy Issues of De-carbonizing the Canadian Energy Economy: is there a clear path?

On Feb. 25, 2016, a panel of speakers and researchers got together at the University of Waterloo for PowerShift: Rethinking Design for Energy Access, where students were encouraged to use innovation to address global problems — specifically, how to create a future where energy is available to all.

The interactive discussion and design session, hosted by AE4H (Affordable Energy For Humanity) and the Waterloo Institute for Sustainable Energy (WISE), connected engineers to the value of development work, and addressed the need to develop ultra-efficient and ultra-affordable technologies to combat energy poverty in a sustainable way.

The event was hosted on campus for students with a focus on humanitarian engineering, international development and social innovation to shape solutions for energy access in remote and energy-impoverished communities.

WISE proudly announced the launch of ‘A Global Change Initiative: Affordable Energy For Humanity’. In partnership with Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) Germany, Waterloo Global Science Initiative (WGSI) and University of Waterloo: WISE Executive Director Professor Jatin Nathwani and Professor Dr. Joachim, Knebel led the way towards the next energy transition on a global scale by harnessing the insights of existing expertise and the technological capacity for innovation at leading universities and institutions around the world. . The public launch event began at 3pm September 29th DC1302 which included Professor Nathwani’s lecture: ‘Affordable Energy for Humanity: If Not Now, When?’ followed by the announcement of the AE4H Initiative and a wine and cheese reception in the lounge.

Professor Jatin Nathwani, Ontario Research Chair in Public Policy for Sustainable Energy, University of Waterloo, discussed the pathways to a low carbon energy future. The goal is to unlock scientific and technological innovations to deliver clean, low cost energy services to every global citizen.

The Canadian Plastics Industry Association teamed up with UW to host the second annual, invitation-only Partnerships Workshop. The full-day event engaged experts from universities, government and industry, facilitating new network connections to create important insights and ideas on the future of waste management. Wide ranging discussions included waste-related matters from evidence-based decision making and policy planning to reduction through resource recovery and final disposal

Energy Day 2014 invited over 100 stakeholders from academia, industry, the community, and government agencies to explore discussion addressing energy entrepreneurship and the future of energy service delivery. The event included energy research presentations, poster displays, panel discussions, and networking opportunities for researchers, graduate and undergraduate students, community organizations and industry professionals.

The Energy Panel on Biofuels and Waste Treatment event was co-hosted with the Centre for Bioengineering and Biotechnology (CBB) and highlighted work being conducted in biotechnology through a panel discussion, faculty and industry representative talks, and presentations showcasing graduate student work.

The SDTC Virtual Incubator™ Workshops targeted entrepreneurs with early-stage clean technologies who planned on applying to SDTC for funding and provide those entrepreneurs and prospective applicants with key information and practical guidance to prepare a quality SOI submission. The session enabled prospective applicants to assess the potential fit of their technology with SDTC’s SD Tech Fund, and to help gain an understanding of the application process and key evaluation criteria.

The Solid Waste Management Partnerships Workshop 2014, invited 40 stakeholders from academia, industry and government agencies to advance discussions regarding research, development and demonstrations of solid waste management in Canada. The workshop explored opportunities for collaboration and integration of efforts on solid waste management research. Essentially, the workshop agenda focused on discussing three research themes, including resource recovery, energy recovery, and analysis and policy. The workshop overall, aimed at contributing to a more coordinated activity for solid waste management research and development in Canada.

The public was invited to join WISE members, industry experts and students for an enlightening day of energy research lectures, presentations, and discussions. The event provided opportunities to tour labs, meet researchers and make connections.

Advancing public dialogue on energy issues through analysis and evidence-based assessment is an important function of the Institute. A current example is the leadership WISE has shown in developing the concept of a smart energy network.

WISE members were joined by senior international leadership from Germany and Japan for an evening of casual conversation. The participants made connections, shared experiences, and learned more about the emerging field of 'smart energy'.

SEN Canada 2013 brought together 65 leaders in government, utilities, business, civil society and academia to start the discussion about the potential role of integrated, multiple-fuel, and communicative systems in Canada's energy future. The event fostered an understanding of SEN, providing an opportunity to participate in discussions that advance SEN in Canada with national and international speakers, researchers and other relevant stakeholders.

The forum brought together representatives from local electric distribution companies, Waterloo researchers, and supporting partners to discuss the latest utility-related electric vehicle (EV) research and explore collaboration pathways based on the Drive4Data initiative. Participants indicated they would be willing to share their electric vehicle data with WISE or be directly involved in advancing the initiative.

WISE hosted a two-day electric vehicle test drive event in partnership with Mitsubishi. The aim was to engage with the local community and elicit their input into the design of WISE's Drive4Data initiative. The event was highly successful, attracting local utilities, municipalities and the high-tech sector. A large majority of participants indicated they would be willing to share their electric vehicle data with WISE, while 30 per cent indicated they would like to be directly involved in advancing the initiative.

The workshop on the Risks of CO₂Sequestration was held at University of Waterloo on Oct 11-12, 2011. This was sponsored by the Waterloo Institute for Sustainable Energy and Carbon Management Canada.

WISE and Waterloo Engineering partnered with NSERC to conduct an Electric Vehicle / Grid Interaction Industry Mixer event. It provided a networking opportunity with representatives from the local Electric Vehicle community.

WE Innovate was held on November 4, 2010 in the new Engineering 5 building. The inaugural annual event was a showcase of Waterloo Engineering innovation. World-class researchers displayed leading edge technology that will shape the world of tomorrow. Attendees included researchers from across campus and industry partners.

The conference organizers appreciated the nearly 100 thought-leaders that participated in the Governance and Regulation in the Electricity Sector: Balancing Independence with Accountability event. The conference was presented in partnership with the Council for Clean & Reliable Energy, the Richard Ivey School of Business, University of Western Ontario, and the Waterloo Institute for Sustainable Energy, University of Waterloo.

The 5th International Green Energy Conference (IGEC-V) was held on June 1-3, 2010.

Discovery 2010, the Ontario Centre of Excellence’s annual conference to showcase and celebrate Ontario innovation, is one of Ontario’s flagship programs that supports and promotes research at Ontario’s universities, colleges, research institutions and companies. Held May 17 and 18, Discovery 2010 was billed as “Where next Happens” for Clean Tech, Health Tech, High Tech and Digital Media.

ENERCOM 2010 explored the economic impact of a smarter, greener energy industry on the Ontario market and the various players that will be affected by the Green Energy & Green Economy Act.

The workshop was hosted in India from 12-13 October 2009 under the partnership development activities of ISTP (Canada) and GITA (India). Partners in India include Prof. S. Sreenivasa Murthy, CEA Chair, Department of Electrical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi.

The objective of the workshop was to further existing collaboration from a previous Workshop held at Ryerson University in Toronto in 2008. Jatin Nathwani, executive director of WISE and SS Murthy, IIT professor, coordinated the two-day workshop.

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