CTC #95 - Carbon removal finds a home in Alberta

TECH

Carbon removal innovation lands in Alberta

A small town in Alberta will be ground zero for carbon removal innovation. 

What happened: Deep Sky will launch its carbon removal innovation and commercialization centre in Innisfail, Alberta. Dubbed Deep Sky Labs, the complex will be a test bed for different direct air capture (DAC) technologies as the company pursues a path to low-cost, high integrity and scalable carbon dioxide removal (CDR).

Deep Sky is partnering with eight different technology partners to test their carbon removal methods. The facility will start removing up to 30,000 tonnes of CO2 over a 10 year period and store the captured CO2 two kilometres underground at an existing well operated by Bison Low Carbon Ventures.

Why it matters: Carbon removal is a growing industry, but most technologies are still in the early stages, capable of removing a few kilograms or tonnes annually. The largest removal facility in the world can pull down 36,000 tonnes of carbon per year. 

Deep Sky is taking a tech agnostic approach, testing out different DAC methods using shared infrastructure to see which pathways have the greatest potential before committing to commercial-scale projects. 

What’s next: Deep Sky Labs will be running this winter, and the company and is also evaluating the potential for geologic carbon sequestration in Bécancour and Thetford Mines, Quebec. The company plans to have more carbon removal facilities in Quebec in the future. 

SPONSORED BY GREEN ECONOMY LAW

Your partner in climate tech startup law

This week’s issue is sponsored by Green Economy Law, a boutique Toronto-based law firm providing general and specialized legal services for startups and non-profit organizations in climate tech and other green economy sectors.

Sign up for their monthly newsletter to keep up with developments in Canadian climate and environmental law.

Green Economy Law offers legal services for every step of your journey:

• Flat fee incorporation and minute book assembly

• B Corp certification

• Contracts

• IP protection

• Employment

• Green grants and incentives assistance

• Securities law (investments)

Book a free 15 minute consultation here to learn more.

CLIMATE CAPITAL

🏢 Miru closed $27.4 million in Series A financing to commercialize its energy efficient window technology. Miru develops smart, electrochromic windows that use an electric current to adjust the tint of glass windows in buildings and vehicles, increasing building energy efficiency by 20%. Miru will use the fresh capital to develop dynamic glass roofs for cars and support the build out of pilot production lines. 

⚛️ General Fusion landed a $20 million investment from Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) and BDC Capital. The funding will support General Fusion’s LM26 demonstration program which is focused on hitting two technological milestones on the company’s road to commercialization. The investment from CNL is part of a new focus on fusion announced in June.

🔋 Mangrove Lithium secured an undisclosed amount of funding from InBC, British Columbia’s strategic investment fund. Mangrove is developing lithium refining technology with a low carbon footprint and producing no waste by-products.

MILESTONES & PRODUCT

🔥 FireSwarm Solutions was named one of the Qualified Teams in the XPRIZE Wildfire’s Autonomous Wildfire Response track and will advance to the next stage of the challenge. FireSwarm uses autonomous drone swarms for rapid, precise wildfire suppression.

🔋 Battery materials company Li-Metal sold its lithium metal production business to US-based Arcadium Lithium for $15.6 million. Li-Metal is exiting lithium to focus on its anode production business.

⚡️ EV charging company Hypercharge is partnering with residential developer Mattamy Homes to supply 323 EV charging stations at multifamily developments in the GTA.

♻️ Cyclic Materials partnered with SYNETIQ, a UK-based vehicle salvage and recycling company, to recycle electric motors containing rare weather elements. 

🚢 Veer.Voyage signed a letter of intent with shipbuilder Fosen to build two wind-powered and hydrogen assisted container vessels. Veer plans to deploy the world’s first clean container ship to cross an ocean.

♻️ Battery recycler Li-Cycle cut losses from $31.9M in Q2 last year to $8.2M as part of an internal review to manage operational costs. The company also announced it will close its Kingston, ON recycling plant and optimize its hub and spoke network.

NEWS

Canada weighs tariffs to protect emerging EV industry

A decision for Canadian tariffs on Chinese-made EVs could be coming soon, according to Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland’s office. The feds opened up a 30-day consultation on potential tariffs in July following similar hikes imposed by the US and European Union earlier this year.

At issue: Unfair competition from Chinese manufacturers, which Freeland’s office has described as “intentional, state-directed policy of overcapacity”, allowing manufacturers to undercut competition. 

The landscape: Both the US and EU introduced tariffs this year, but took different approaches. The Biden administration raised tariffs to 100%, responding to what it called unfair competition and to protect US jobs. The EU, by contrast, raised them by 17% to 37% after an investigation into the exact impact of subsidies on prices. 

What’s at stake: The feds will need to walk a line between their climate goals, trade obligations, and protecting their investments in the EV supply chain.

The US is Canada’s number one export market, and both the US and Mexico have taken actions against China. But raising tariffs could also open Canada to trade complaints - China has already filed a complaint through the World Trade Organization against the EU.

The federal government also has billions in EV supply chain investments they’ll want to protect: more than $31 billion and close to $100 billion between industry and government.

Avoiding tariffs could mean:

• Low-cost competition undercutting an emerging EV industry. Some industry players have said the sector needs more time to establish itself.

• Canada becomes a dumping ground as Chinese companies import to Canada and then resell into the US.

• For consumers, access to low-cost EVs like BYD’s Seagull, which goes for about $14,000 with a 300 km range.

The amount of imported Chinese EVs is fairly small right now - about 11% of the value of all EV imports this year - but could grow significantly if carmakers like BYD enter the market.

The bottom line: The feds are sending strong signals that they’ll implement some level of tariffs, and have been taking firm stances on China’s dominance in battery supply chains.

IN THE NEWS

🥵 Extreme heat protection: Advocates are calling on cities across Canada to introduce maximum temperature bylaws to protect tenants facing more frequent heatwaves. Bylaws would set ceilings for how hot an apartment can get before a landlord needs to step in. Many buildings have no air conditioning, and landlords have little financial incentive to step in.  

🪨 Sticking with coal: Toronto-based mining giant Glencore cancelled plans to spin out its coal business after acquiring Elk Valley Resources. The company planned to split coal out from its main business and ramp it down over time. Driving the decision was “clear preference” from shareholders to keep pumping cash from selling coal for shareholder returns. 

⛏️ More mines: Canada needs to accelerate the pace of new mine openings by 5x by 2035 to support four new gigafactories according to internal government documents obtained by The Logic. That increase will require more than $24 billion in private capital. Just three battery mineral mines have opened in the last 15 years.

BIG PICTURE

Tesla Mafia: former Tesla employees created $10 billion worth of clean energy investments

China’s battery industry starts to consolidate amid oversupply, while plugin vehicles make up 50% of new car sales

The US Dept. of Energy announced $2.2 billion to support grid resiliency projects

Carbon Removal Standards Initiative launches to accelerate strong carbon removal policy

Indian EV maker Ola Electric stock jumps 20% after the biggest IPO in years

Countries are on track to double wind generation but short of global tripling goal

Climate Impact Partners launches a new program to rapidly scale carbon removal

COMMUNITY

🗓️ Climate careers and community: Join Montreal’s climate community to meet others who are passionate about climate solutions or explore new career paths. August 29th, Montreal.  

🗓️ Sustainable Finance Summit: Join over 250 banks, credit unions, lenders, investors and fintechs to advance Climate Risk Stress Testing and Sustainable Finance in Canada. September 12th, Toronto.

💻️ Deep Sky is hiring a Public Funding Manager to enhance their public funding strategy and scale up carbon removal.

Check out the job board for more postings