[1] AOSTRA was formed in 1974 for promotion of the development of new technologies for oil sands and heavy-oil production.
[4] In 1986, the Alberta Department of Energy took over AOSTRA's role in developing oil sands technology, and on 1 August 2000, AOSTRA was reorganized into the newly established Alberta Energy Research Institute, and rebranded again to the name of Alberta Innovates—Energy and Environment Solutions with an expanded role to include other energy-related research areas such as wind, solar, fuel cells, clean coal and biomass.
[4][5] AOSTRA operated primarily through projects, the costs of which were shared with industries.
AOSTRA also supported research at Canadian universities and research institutions by providing grants to inventors, funding the operation of a technical information system, promoting international co-operation in oil sands development, and providing scholarships and fellowships for educational assistance.
[4] Most notable technologies developed with assistance of AOSTRA include of Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD), OSLO Cold Water Extraction (OCWE) and Alberta Taciuk Process (ATP).