Facilities
Our greenhouse and growth chamber facility allows InnoTech Alberta’s experts to conduct research on plants and crops that can de-risk and improve the success of reclamation projects for our clients, mainly in the oil and gas and industrial sectors.
In collaboration with the Bio-industrial Division, this facility can accommodate vegetation research to determine which plant species will thrive in specific reclamation site conditions, and measure the impact of soil contaminants on plant growth. We can assess the benefits of different soil amendments to maximize reclamation success.
Our facility in Vegreville includes 18 greenhouse compartments with supplemental temperature and lighting control, amounting to 640m2 of growing space. We also have 40 growth chambers with temperature, humidity, lighting, and day-length control, for an additional 90m2 of growing area.
Through our work, we can scale up plant growth. In general, we first conduct a small-scale experiment in one of our greenhouses and if it is successful, we move to a larger outdoor box or plot to verify results, and lastly, up to field scale.
The Vegreville facility has germination and plant tissue culture cabinets. These cabinets allow us to control temperature, humidity, lighting, and day-length for a small number of plants.
The climate control within these cabinets allows staff to continue growing plants, even rare sensitive species, during Alberta’s harsh winters.
We have an area, including specialized sprayers, scales, and protective equipment (to protect against soil contaminants) that allow for the washing, weighing, and collecting of root samples for study.