Canada is walking the talk when it comes to embracing sustainable technology and innovation that will shape the future of infrastructure, according to a report released recently by KPMG.
The report, titled Emerging Trends in Infrastructure, highlights 10 key trends and headwinds that KPMG professionals believe will have a significant impact on infrastructure around the globe.
It is a culmination of interviews with KPMG subject matter experts across the world covering developed nations and emerging economies. The report highlights three distinct trends that are already taking shape in Canada and provides examples of projects that are already under way in the country.
Lead authors are Richard Threlfall, global head of infrastructure, government and healthcare at KPMG International, Michele Connolly, head of infrastructure, EMA region, and partner at KPMG in Ireland, and Sharad Somani, head of infrastructure, Asia Pacific, and partner in Singapore.
According to the report, Canada is unwavering in its commitment to achieving net-zero emissions and is committed to working with other countries to invest in cleantech and clean energy infrastructure.
And, when it comes to the world of infrastructure, the country is driving the energy transition to net zero, embracing technology and innovation, and working with Indigenous leadership on issues.
For example, during the COP28 meeting in Dubai, the Canadian government reaffirmed its intent to work with other countries in limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius and highlight plans to invest in cleantech and clean energy infrastructure projects.
Briefly, the projects include the Canada Net Zero Hydrogen Energy Complex in Alberta, the Oneidar Energy Storage initiative in Ontario, and the Everwinds Fuels project in Nova Scotia.
The report suggests that activity related to Canada’s energy transition will gain momentum as such projects prove successful and as cleantech methods and technologies mature.
On technology and innovation, the report forecasts that demand for new or renewed infrastructure will outpace the ability to build it, without increasingly innovating and turning to cutting-edge technologies to keep pace.
“Tools like virtual and augmented reality and digital twins are proving to be key in helping owners and builders envision, track, and analyze their projects throughout development,” authors of the report state. “The expectation is generative artificial intelligence will play an increasing role in all aspects of the asset lifecycle, enabling better decision making and outcomes.”
Currently, censors and data gathering systems, digital dashboards, and AI-enabled cameras are driving operational improvements, they note, while advances in modular construction, 3D printing, drones, and automated equipment are helping infrastructure stakeholders bring their visions to life faster.
“Today’s infrastructure is increasingly being designed, built, monitored, and maintained with innovative processes and new and emerging technologies. As this continues, we can expect the industry to address Canada’s infrastructure gaps with greater speed, efficiency, and cost-efficiencies.”
Meanwhile, the authors indicate that Indigenous leaders across Canada are working with governments at all levels to develop new mechanisms for greater First Nations involvement in regulatory decision-making on energy projects. Initiatives like the Barlow Solar Project in Alberta and the Wataynikaneyap Transmission Project in Ontario among many others, are demonstrating the economic, social and environmental benefits of such collaborations, they say.
Many governments and asset owners see technology as a way to maximize the value of existing assets and investments, the report indicates, and recently, a growing number of governments and international institutions have started to think much more critically about how they might more appropriately contract for innovation and technology.
Expect to see further progress and adoption of infrastructure innovation, particularly within critical sectors like energy, built environment and urban infrastructure, the report states. Countries around the globe are facing challenges as they are try to change their energy mix, economies, trade patterns, cities, technology, social equity, as well as deal with climate change against a backdrop of divisive geopolitical rhetoric and economic uncertainty.
“It is a mammoth task,” they explain. “Humanity’s success or failure will largely rest on the shoulders of our infrastructure.
“Infrastructure will be central to the energy transition and achieving our climate adaptation goals. It catalyzes economic growth and facilitates trade. It underpins urban renewal, lays the foundations for digital transformation and – when done well – can help embed social equity.”
To achieve change, the report notes countries need to modify and improve the way they plan, fund, develop and operate infrastructure. To succeed, the authors state, there needs to be collaboration, new funding mechanisms, innovative regulatory regimes, new construction techniques, broader skill sets and – more than anything – a high degree of flexibility and creativity.
“Business as usual is not an option. Countries, territories, cities and corporates have to reinvent themselves as well as up-skill and innovate to meet the emerging changes and potential opportunities. Enabling the world’s transitions, therefore, must start with a transition in the infrastructure sector.”