Creating Energy: How Suncor Energy Collaborates to Innovate

Suncor Energy’s drone program stands as a model for how legacy energy giants can embrace new technology to drive efficiency, safety and environmental stewardship at scale. Since launching its formal drone operations in 2020, Suncor has completed more than 18,000 missions across Canada and the United States, transforming everything from mine surveys to wildlife protection.

By combining internal expertise with a robust network of 32 external vendors, Suncor has built one of North America’s most advanced hybrid drone programs - one that is not only reshaping industrial inspection and maintenance, but also setting new standards for regulatory compliance and data management. In a recent Dawn of Autonomy podcast, Tedman Jess, Senior Aviation Advisor – RPAS, provided a deep dive into the approach that has helped Suncor turn drones from a niche experiment into a core operational asset.

https://www.auvsi.org/creating-energy-how-suncor-energy-collaborates-innovate

Image Courtesy Suncor Energy: Depiction of Company Drone Strategy

Topics: Energy, Drones, compliance, operations, management, vendors, data, AI