Alberta
Edmonton medical cannabis company expanding to Denmark
From Atlas Biotechnologies Inc.
Atlas Biotechnologies announces a major expansion into the European market.
Atlas Biotechnologies Inc. is pleased to announce its expansion into Europe with Atlas Growers Denmark. Atlas Biotechnologies is proud to be the first Canadian grower to execute a large-scale indoor medicinal cannabis production facility in Europe.
Sheldon Croome, Atlas President & CEO notes: “We have been seeking to expand our production base outside of Canada for some time and are pleased to have secured this high-impact opportunity. The rapidly emerging European medical cannabis market is primed for tremendous growth and our Denmark expansion will provide Atlas a solid foundation to further serve our ever-growing client base of European buyers. We are excited to be planning one of the largest, most sophisticated indoor cultivation and GMP processing facilities in Europe, the next major frontier for medical cannabis legalization.”
Atlas Growers Denmark is structured using a finance lease of the assets of Egehøj Champignon; Atlas retains the right to purchase the assets at a fixed price at any time for twenty years. The assets consist of a 170,000 sq. ft. facility located on Funen, Denmark and will serve as Atlas’ European base of operations for the development and production of medical cannabis-based products. The property features 36 individual climate-controlled rooms, allowing for in-house cultivation of pharmaceutical grade cannabis flowers, as well as production of pure, extracted medical inputs, & GMP manufacturing of down-stream finished goods. The microclimates can be tailored to the unique environmental demands of each specific medical cannabis cultivar, or plant variety.
Kent Stenvang, CEO and Owner of Egehøj Champignon will lead the Atlas team as Denmark Head of Operations.
Kent Stenvang added: “I am thrilled to become an integral member of the Atlas team and am consistently impressed by their biotech and pharmaceutical research focus in medical cannabis. This cultivation and processing expansion is a boost for the area by creating 50 local jobs with over 100 hires expected by late 2020.”
Drawing of Denmark facility.
Working with Novo Nordisk Engineering, Atlas has engineered a new 20,000 sq. ft. processing laboratory, which will meet European Union Good Manufacturing Practices (EU GMP) standards, the certification necessary for pharmaceutical manufacturing.
Atlas Denmark has submitted a cultivation license. Approval is pending and is expected in the next few months with planting to begin soon after. The first harvest is scheduled for early 2020 with an expected eventual product yield of 20,000 kg each year.
About Atlas Biotechnologies Inc. (“Atlas”) and Atlas Growers Ltd.
Atlas is based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada and its wholly owned subsidiary, Atlas Growers Ltd. is federally licensed for cultivation and processing of cannabis products, with a focus on medical use markets. Atlas currently operates a purpose-built 38,000 square foot facility and laboratory, which has in-house capabilities to refine cannabis into distilled and isolated cannabinoid concentrates as well as specialized medical formulations in large volumes. Atlas’ proprietary controlled environment cultivation system is designed to maximize production of the highest consistency and quality of cannabis products for medical use applications. Atlas is heavily focused on research and development and continues to solidify collaboration with some of the world’s most prestigious post-secondary institutions, including Harvard Medical School. Atlas continues towards its vision of improving lives by creating The World’s Most Trusted Cannabis ProductsTM.
Premier Danielle Smith issued the following statement on the April 2, 2025 U.S. tariff announcement:
“Today was an important win for Canada and Alberta, as it appears the United States has decided to uphold the majority of the free trade agreement (CUSMA) between our two nations. It also appears this will continue to be the case until after the Canadian federal election has concluded and the newly elected Canadian government is able to renegotiate CUSMA with the U.S. administration.
“This is precisely what I have been advocating for from the U.S. administration for months.
“It means that the majority of goods sold into the United States from Canada will have no tariffs applied to them, including zero per cent tariffs on energy, minerals, agricultural products, uranium, seafood, potash and host of other Canadian goods.
“There is still work to be done, of course. Unfortunately, tariffs previously announced by the United States on Canadian automobiles, steel and aluminum have not been removed. The efforts of premiers and the federal government should therefore shift towards removing or significantly reducing these remaining tariffs as we go forward and ensuring affected workers across Canada are generously supported until the situation is resolved.
“I again call on all involved in our national advocacy efforts to focus on diplomacy and persuasion while avoiding unnecessary escalation. Clearly, this strategy has been the most effective to this point.
“As it appears the worst of this tariff dispute is behind us (though there is still work to be done), it is my sincere hope that we, as Canadians, can abandon the disastrous policies that have made Canada vulnerable to and overly dependent on the United States, fast-track national resource corridors, get out of the way of provincial resource development and turn our country into an independent economic juggernaut and energy superpower.”
From the Fraser Institute
By any measure, Alberta is an energy powerhouse—within Canada, but also on a global scale. In 2023, it produced 85 per cent of Canada’s oil and three-fifths of the country’s natural gas. Most of Canada’s oil reserves are in Alberta, along with a majority of natural gas reserves. Alberta is the beating heart of the Canadian energy economy. And energy, in turn, accounts for one-quarter of Canada’s international exports.
Consider some key facts about the province’s energy landscape, as noted in the Alberta Energy Regulator’s (AER) 2023 annual report. Oil and natural gas production continued to rise (on a volume basis) in 2023, on the heels of steady increases over the preceding half decade. However, the dollar value of Alberta’s oil and gas production fell in 2023, as the surging prices recorded in 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine retreated. Capital spending in the province’s energy sector reached $30 billion in 2023, making it the leading driver of private-sector investment. And completion of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project has opened new offshore export avenues for Canada’s oil industry and should boost Alberta’s energy production and exports going forward.
In a world striving to address climate change, Alberta’s hydrocarbon-heavy energy sector faces challenges. At some point, the world may start to consume less oil and, later, less natural gas (in absolute terms). But such “peak” consumption hasn’t arrived yet, nor does it appear imminent. While the demand for certain refined petroleum products is trending down in some advanced economies, particularly in Europe, we should take a broader global perspective when assessing energy demand and supply trends.
Looking at the worldwide picture, Goldman Sachs’ 2024 global energy forecast predicts that “oil usage will increase through 2034” thanks to strong demand in emerging markets and growing production of petrochemicals that depend on oil as the principal feedstock. Global demand for natural gas (including LNG) will also continue to increase, particularly since natural gas is the least carbon-intensive fossil fuel and more of it is being traded in the form of liquefied natural gas (LNG).
Against this backdrop, there are reasons to be optimistic about the prospects for Alberta’s energy sector, particularly if the federal government dials back some of the economically destructive energy and climate policies adopted by the last government. According to the AER’s “base case” forecast, overall energy output will expand over the next 10 years. Oilsands output is projected to grow modestly; natural gas production will also rise, in part due to greater demand for Alberta’s upstream gas from LNG operators in British Columbia.
The AER’s forecast also points to a positive trajectory for capital spending across the province’s energy sector. The agency sees annual investment rising from almost $30 billion to $40 billion by 2033. Most of this takes place in the oil and gas industry, but “emerging” energy resources and projects aimed at climate mitigation are expected to represent a bigger slice of energy-related capital spending going forward.
Like many other oil and gas producing jurisdictions, Alberta must navigate the bumpy journey to a lower-carbon future. But the world is set to remain dependent on fossil fuels for decades to come. This suggests the energy sector will continue to underpin not only the Alberta economy but also Canada’s export portfolio for the foreseeable future.
Jock Finlayson
Senior Fellow, Fraser Institute
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