Simulation Facility for Landfill Emission Experiments (SIMFLEX) is a pioneering controlled-release test site located at a closed landfill in southern Ontario. With support from Environmental Research & Education Foundation (EREF), and Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), FluxLab designed and operates the first large-scale controlled release study mimicking landfill emissions. The facility rigorously tests and validates commercial (and developing) emissions measurement technologies, with quantitative and/or qualitative abilities, in real-world scenarios.
In winter 2026, FluxLab will host its first-ever Winter Controlled Release Campaign — the first initiative of its kind designed to evaluate controlled releases under true winter conditions.
This campaign offers a unique opportunity for technology developers and researchers to:
- Demonstrate the performance and resilience of their solutions in challenging winter environments
- Test and validate measurement systems under realistic cold-weather field conditions
- Gain insights into the dynamics of emissions and plume dispersion during the winter season
Follow our website and LinkedIn page for updates and upcoming results from the November 2024 and Spring 2025 campaigns.
Information for Participants 2026
Overview
Participation documents
Overview and Methodology Framework
Participation agreements
Research Participation Agreement (Off-site participants)
Research Participation Agreement (On-site participants, self insured)
Research Participation Agreement (On-site participants)
Safety Training & Documents
Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan
Contractor Safety Requirements
Online Contractor Safety Training
Intelivert Presence User Guide
Geometry Files & Maps
Webinars
2025
This past spring, we coordinated two major controlled release campaigns at SIMFLEX to advance methane measurement technologies:
May 12–18:
This campaign focused on a wide range of methane measurement technologies, including eddy covariance towers, UAV-based, vehicle-based, and ground-based systems. The goal was to refine quantification and detection methodologies by applying them in realistic landfill conditions. These experiments helped participating vendors improve their measurement systems and methodologies by addressing the unique challenges of landfill methane emissions, such as large-scale spatial variability, mixed emission types (point and area sources), and interference caused by complex topography and meteorological factors.
June 2–15:
This campaign concentrated on releasing rates useful for improving satellite- and aircraft-based methane detection technologies. Controlled releases simulated a variety of emission scenarios, including dispersed and point-area sources.
Research objectives included:
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Investigating the impact of area sources on satellite detection capabilities.
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Assessing how weather conditions and atmospheric dynamics influenced satellite-based methane measurements.
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Examining the relationship between emission rates and spatial distribution in determining satellite quantification accuracy.
2024
With additional technical leadership from Tarek Abichou at Florida State University and support from EREF, we established a more permanent test site in the same location named SIMFLEX – Simulation and Measurement Facility for Landfill Emission Experiments. SIMFLEX incorporates 11 computer-controlled point- and area-sources with capacity to emit up to ~840 kg/hr.
In November, we held our second set of experiments which considered how varying weather and wind conditions affect emissions measurements, particularly in relation to site topography and meteorological influences. This study brought together a diverse array of technology providers, including start-ups, consulting firms, NGOs, and researchers from the U.S., Canada, and Europe.
Several methodologies were tested by participants, including:
- Continuous Sensors
- Surface Emissions Monitoring, including ground and drone-based methods
- Satellite Imaging
- Drones
- Truck-Mounted Sensors
Study results were presented at the 2025 EREF Summit on Landfill Emissions on March 4-5 in Raleigh, North Carolina.
2023
We were contracted by the Environmental Research and Education Foundation (EREF) to execute a controlled release program to evaluate methane measurement technologies under full-scale realistic conditions. Over the summer and fall of 2023, we built and operated a 12-hectare controlled release study site on a closed landfill near Sarnia, Ontario. The landfill has classic topography with 30 m elevation change, and an effective collection system with very low baseline emissions.
The capabilities of the test facility were very unique. We could release methane in a controlled fashion from a combination of 10 remote-controlled point sources and area sources (several hundred sqm) spread across the 12-hectare test facility.
Sixteen different technologies from all across North America came to site for blind testing of detection and quantification abilities up to 300 kg/hr. Satellites to aircraft to drones, to trucks and ground sensors participated.
Mobile technologies performed well during quantification trials. Almost all values were within 3x of known release rates, and more often within 0.5x with high correlation (generally R2>0.75) between estimates and known release rates.
In leak detection trials, results were far more variable with some technologies performing very well, and others not delivering expected outcomes.
