Climate change and sustainability: 2024–2025 Annual Report

Long, harsh winters take their toll on housing in Canada's North and leave only a small window of good weather for construction crews to repair damage and make upgrades to improve a home's energy efficiency. With funding from our Arctic and Northern Challenge program, Whitehorse-based Earthrise Building Services has launched a 3-year project that is researching and developing new strategies to accelerate deep-energy retrofits in Northern and remote communities.

Six homes on Champagne and Aishihik First Nations land in the Yukon have been selected as sites for initial research on the benefits of energy efficiency, adequate ventilation and clean air, supported by our Construction Research Centre's expertise in ventilation and indoor air quality. A long-term outcome of the project will be a database of findings that will help builders, project delivery specialists, technology suppliers, manufacturers and communities swiftly carry out retrofits in Canada's North, promoting greater energy efficiency and healthier homes.

Wild blueberries have been a staple for Northern and Indigenous communities for generations, but because they yield relatively little fruit and have narrow harvest windows, it's difficult to meet demand. Experts from our Aquatic and Crop Resource Development and Quantum and Nanotechnologies research centres are working with the Kineepik Metis Local #9 community in Northern Saskatchewan to study methods to propagate the plant and enhance its production capacity, including through tissue culture technology and genetic evaluation. This work will help us understand the potential of wild blueberry productivity to drive economic growth in Northern economies as well as reduce forest fire risks, as the plants also serve as an effective firebreak.

Phytoplankton are microscopic organisms that are vital to oceanic ecosystems, serving a role similar to trees as absorbers of carbon dioxide. In partnership with Dalhousie University, our Aquatic and Crop Resource Development Research Centre is studying phytoplankton in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean to understand how different species of this organism fare in the warmer water conditions brought by climate change. Because phytoplankton adapt and react more rapidly to environmental changes than other oceanic lifeforms, such as fish, they can serve as an early indicator of ocean health that helps predict the broader impacts of climate change on marine ecosystems.

If hydrogen-powered vehicles are to become commercially available, manufacturers need a way to store hydrogen safely. The NRC is at the forefront of solving the related engineering challenges, including how to make hydrogen reservoirs that are stronger and more resistant to the extremely high pressure under which hydrogen is stored. The NRC's world-leading blow-molding simulation software, BlowView, allows manufacturers to run digital simulations of hydrogen permeation during vehicle design and development, reducing the time, cost and waste associated with physical testing of different liner thicknesses and other variables.

Experts from our Automotive and Surface Transportation and Clean Energy Innovation research centres are also working with Transport Canada to explore the potential of hydrogen- and battery-powered locomotives. The project involves developing a risk management framework for these locomotives and educating regulators about the technology, steps that will support Canada's decarbonization of rail transportation.

Both the aviation and energy sectors need clean technologies to limit carbon emissions and reduce climate impact. Hydrogen is one of several alternative energy sources that holds great promise, but its high reactivity presents significant challenges. In partnership with Siemens Energy Canada Limited and several Canadian universities, in 2024–2025, we completed the first large-scale, high-pressure combustion test of novel fuel flexible injectors that can power gas turbines with up to 100% hydrogen in a safe, stable and efficient manner. The test, which took place in the NRC's Propulsion and Power Laboratory, explored the potential of this innovative design for real-world deployment, furthering our commitment to advancing hydrogen technology and creating value for Canada's industry.

While concrete structures help protect shorelines against erosion, they also leach acidic chemicals into the water. In partnership with marine technology company ECOncrete, experts at our Ocean, Coastal and River Engineering Research Centre advanced an eco-friendly alternative to traditional concrete structures called Coastalock. Made from an ecologically sensitive concrete mix, the structures are also shaped and textured to create habitats for aquatic life. We lent our expertise and world-class large wave flume facility to physically test the units against varying water levels, wave heights and other conditions. The results helped determine the optimal spacing of the units, structure height and other details that will inform real-world deployments along coasts across the globe.

The transition to green energy sources is not limited to land vehicles like cars and buses. Efforts are also underway to make seafaring vessels more sustainable. Halifax-based Glas Ocean Electric is contributing to that transformation by focusing on small boats, which are often overlooked in research and development. Experts from our Ocean, Coastal and River Engineering Research Centre helped the company study the relationship between small boat emissions and meteorological and operational data to set a baseline that can be used to quantify emissions reductions.

Based on that research, Glas Ocean Electric built software that provides data on emissions and costs based on a variety of factors, including the number of people on board a vessel. This tool could help small boat operators reduce fuel consumption and emissions, potentially having a major impact given the number of such vessels in Canadian waters.

The $77-million expansion of the TerraCanada advanced materials research facility in Mississauga, Ontario, was completed in April 2024. Two new floors add more than 6,000 square metres of lab space to support the development and commercialization of advanced materials technologies. Bringing together scientists from the NRC and Natural Resources Canada, the facility supports the discovery and development of materials that are critical to clean technologies, which will help Canada meet its emission reduction targets while growing the country's clean energy sector.

As floods and severe storms become more prevalent, it is vital to understand how homes and other buildings can be made more resilient to damage and loss. In partnership with Architecture Sans Frontières Québec and the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, our Ocean, Coastal and River Engineering and Construction research centres have built a full-scale home to National Model Codes standards in the NRC's multidirectional wave basin. The purpose: to simulate various flood conditions and measure water infiltration through various elements.

The results will inform and strengthen residential flood resilience measures, flood protection equipment and architectural designs, helping protect people in Canada from the growing effects of climate change.

The rising temperatures and increasing droughts brought by climate change have made wildfires more frequent and dangerous. To help wildfire management efforts, our Construction and Aerospace research centres continued investigations into the impacts of wildfires on structures and communities. This included research into the contents of wildfire-produced smoke, which contain harmful gases and fine particles that can travel thousands of kilometres, as well as tests on air filters designed to prevent such particles from entering structures.

Additional research studied the chances of embers from wildfires igniting different kinds of construction materials. Data from these investigations will be used to train AI and machine learning models, and also to assist municipalities with wildfire monitoring and containment that could help prevent devastation like that seen in Jasper National Park and other parts of the country in 2024.

Bridges are vital linkages for communities across Canada. This is especially true in rural and Northern regions of the country, where bridges face increased structural risks from the impacts of climate change. Advancements in drone, sensor and AI technology are making it easier to keep these bridges safe for users.

In 2024–2025, NRC researchers advanced a new, data-driven approach to bridge safety monitoring in collaboration with Esri Canada; the University of Manitoba; l'Université du Québec en Outaouais; and Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada. This includes using drones equipped with AI and augmented reality technology to assess bridge conditions safely from afar, along with satellite and on-site sensors to remotely monitor bridge health through indicators like strain, acceleration and temperature.

Data from these projects will feed into a database of knowledge on the effects of traffic and environmental patterns on bridges and other infrastructure, which will inform government decisions related to bridge maintenance, renewal and replacement.