Navigating the energy transition

Feb 3, 2025 | potash news

Technological innovations in Saskatchewan’s potash industry

By Al Shpyth, Executive Director, IMII

The mining and minerals sector, like many others, is undergoing a significant energy transition. However, the global trend toward reducing carbon emissions and shifting to more sustainable energy practices has vastly different implications depending on geography, industry, and the specific operations involved. In Saskatchewan’s potash industry, this transition is not a one-size-fits-all scenario. The scale and nature of the energy demands vary dramatically between different types of operations—conventional underground mines and mills versus solution mines and mills—each with its own set of challenges and opportunities for reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

While the energy requirements of these operations can differ by an order of magnitude, there is a common thread running through them: the need for commercially competitive technological solutions that can reduce emissions without compromising productivity or economic viability.

IMII’s role in driving technological innovation

The International Minerals Innovation Institute (IMII) has been a key player in facilitating the search for energy-efficient and low-emission technologies within Saskatchewan’s potash industry. From its early efforts to its more recent projects, IMII has worked alongside industry stakeholders to identify, validate, and promote technological solutions that could help potash producers meet the dual challenge of reducing emissions and improving energy efficiency.

One of IMII’s first steps in addressing these challenges was a collaboration with the Saskatchewan Mining Association, resulting in a policy brief produced by the Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy. This brief highlighted the unique hurdles faced by the potash industry, particularly its energy-intensive operations and vulnerability to global market forces. Given the long lifespan of capital assets in the industry, including energy infrastructure, the brief emphasized the importance of adopting new technologies that could lower GHG emissions while remaining commercially viable in a highly competitive global marketplace.

Building on this, IMII launched the Alternative Energy System Innovation Challenge. This open innovation challenge aimed to uncover new technologies with the potential to help the industry transition to cleaner energy sources. Two technologies were identified as having potential: Anax Power, which could generate electricity from the down-pressuring of natural gas, and Grengine, which offered a solution for battery energy storage. While both technologies were promising, they highlighted a critical issue: scale and technical readiness. The energy demands of large-scale potash operations in Saskatchewan—ranging from 100 to 500 MW—meant that these solutions, which offered capacities at lower scales, were not immediately practical for widespread industry adoption.

Focus on heat: A key area for emission reduction

Beyond isolated technologies, IMII’s efforts have increasingly focused on understanding the broader sources of energy consumption and emissions in the potash industry. Research has shown that a significant portion of emissions (around 30 per cent) in the sector stems from energy-intensive processes like product drying, steam generation, and building heating. For the sector, approximately half of all energy consumed by potash operations comes from natural gas, which is used for both drying and as a heat source for steam generation and crystallization processes—especially in solution mining operations.

Recognizing this, IMII has worked to bring forward technologies that address heat needs, which are often the largest and most consistent source of energy consumption in the potash industry. Some of the notable emerging technologies that have been identified include:

  • Acceleware’s Clean Tech Inverter: A technology that uses radio frequency energy to dry potash, offering a potentially more energy-efficient solution.
  • SolarSteam: A renewable heat technology designed to provide building heat and low-grade industrial heat, harnessing solar energy for processes traditionally powered by natural gas.
  • ExtractEnergy: A solution that converts low-grade waste heat into electricity, helping to reduce the amount of energy needed from traditional sources.
  • Solex Thermal Science: A company that specializes in heat exchange technology that could optimize heat recovery and reduce energy losses in the potash industry.

These solutions, though promising, also reflect the broader need for a deep and multifaceted approach to emissions reductions in the industry. Technologies that focus on clean heat have the potential to provide significant benefits not only to potash producers but to other energy-intensive industries that share similar heating demands.

Collaborating for larger-scale solutions

In addition to exploring emerging technologies, IMII has sought to identify large-scale energy solutions in collaboration with external partners. It has worked closely with SaskPower, the provincial electricity provider, to explore innovative approaches to reducing GHG emissions. Two significant studies have been conducted in partnership with SaskPower: one focused on the potential for carbon capture hubs anchored by potash and power production, and the other exploring the feasibility of small modular reactors (SMRs) as a source of low-emission industrial heat. Advanced SMR technologies are promising because of their ability to generate thermal and electrical energy at an industrial scale. However, the first advanced SMRs are not expected to be commercially deployed until the early-to-mid-2030s.  Additionally, the development of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies also requires innovation to bring down costs and improve scalability. These studies highlight that achieving industrial decarbonization by 2050 will depend heavily on technological breakthroughs that address both the feasibility and affordability of these advanced energy solutions.

The road ahead: Innovation and collaboration

Notwithstanding Saskatchewan’s potash industry already having lower GHG emissions than other jurisdictions, achieving a successful energy transition will require ongoing technological innovation. IMII recognizes that while progress has been and is being made, there are still challenges in technology that must be addressed for industry to meet its emission reduction targets. Organizations like the World Resources Institute and the International Energy Agency have all pointed out that not enough clean technologies are available at commercially competitive prices or industrial scales.

Ultimately, Saskatchewan’s potash industry is at the crossroads of an exciting, albeit challenging, energy transformation. With the right technological advancements and strategic collaboration, the industry can play a leading role in shaping a sustainable future while continuing to meet global demand for this essential mineral. IMII’s efforts in fostering innovation are a critical part of this journey, helping to bridge the gap between technology, industry needs, and environmental responsibility.

 

Al Shpyth is IMII’s executive director and has master’s degrees in environmental studies and in environmental law and policy.