Planetary’s Frontier moment

TECH

Planetary secures $43M offtake to prove ocean alkalinity at scale

What happened: Planetary closed a $43.3 million offtake deal with Frontier to remove 115,211 tonnes of CO2 using its ocean-based carbon removal.

The details: It’s the first coastal carbon removal deal for Frontier, the carbon removal buyers’ club backed by Shopify, Meta and other tech giants, and the largest ever for ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE).

Planetary removes atmospheric CO2 using ocean alkalinity enhancement, supercharging the ocean’s natural carbon cycle. The process adds alkaline minerals like calcium oxide and magnesium oxide to coastal waters, breaking down dissolved CO2 and locking it into stable carbonate minerals. This process mimics natural ocean chemistry - but at a faster pace.

Why it matters: OAE could store captured carbon for more than 10,000 years, providing a permanent removal pathway. It also offers the potential to scale while reversing ocean acidification - a rare co-benefit.

At $270 USD per tonne, removals remain expensive compared to other pathways. But Frontier sees a plausible path to $50-160 per tonne of removals for OAE as infrastructure and supply chains mature.

Frontier also highlighted Planetary’s focus on safety and monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) as a major reason why they’re the right team to deliver the first ocean-based removals at this scale.

The purchase is a powerful signal to the market: Frontier is an influential buyer, and the deal effectively anoints ocean alkalinity enhancement - and Planetary - as a serious contender.

What’s next:

With fresh momentum from an XPrize win, delivering the world’s first OAE removals, and a $15.8M Series A last fall, Planetary now shifts from pilots to scaling up - and showing they can deliver removals responsibly.

Share this story: https://news.climatetechcanada.ca/p/planetary-frontier-carbon-removal

CLIMATE CAPITAL

⚛️ General Fusion (Richmond, BC) secured $30 million in new financing to continue its LM26 fusion demonstration program. It’s about $100M US short of the $125M the company said it needed in a public call for funding, but will keep the company afloat as it pursues its next technical milestone.

🥡 Friendlier (Guelph, ON) closed a $4.5 million seed extension for its reusable food packaging platform. Friendlier plans to use the new capital to expand its platform to more types of food providers.

⚛️ Aalo Atomics (Austin, Texas) secured $100 million in Series B funding to build its first nuclear power plant, the Aalo-X, and an experimental data centre. Aalo is founded by Humi co-founder and Toronto native Matt Loszak.

⛏️ Northern Graphite (Ottawa, ON) received $6.2 million from the federal government to support operations at its graphite mine in Lac-des-Îles - North America’s only operational graphite mine.

🏭️ Kanin Energy (Calgary, AB) secured a credit facility from PaceZero Capital Partners to support its pipeline of waste heat to power projects.

💰️ Business Development Canada launched a second $200 million fund for startups at Series A and beyond that are building technologies for legacy industries. The fund will focus on critical minerals, agtech, manufacturing and more.

IN THE FIELD

🌊 The Ocean Startup Project announced a new cohort backed by $350K in funding to develop and commercialize ocean tech including Alaagi (seaweed-based bioplastic), FlowMotion Hydrokinetic (tidal power generation) and SeaFoam (seaweed-based building insulation).

💧 Quebec Innovative Materials discovered multiple natural hydrogen concentrations in Nova Scotia, validating their exploration model and advancing natural hydrogen as a potential clean fuel source.

📉 Canadian Solar missed its Q2 revenue targets due to U.S. tariffs and policy changes targeting renewable energy.

🌴 Veritree launched new AI-powered tools for mangrove restoration, including a high-precision carbon model for assessing biomass and a survivability monitoring for newly planted mangroves.

💨 Deep Sky began operations at its Deep Sky Alpha facility in Innisfail, AB, where it’s piloting carbon removal technologies from multiple tech companies.

🛩️ Swiss electric aircraft startup H55 opened its new battery pack production plant in Quebec, it’s first North American plant.

🚚 Sustainable fulfillment startup GoBolt joined the Shopify Fulfillment Network, tapping into the ecomm platform’s merchant base.

🧠 Ranovus is planning a $100M expansion of its energy-efficient optical semiconductor plant in Ottawa.

⛏️ Mangrove Lithium will build a second facility in eastern Canada to produce 20,000 tonnes of lithium annually.

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ECOSYSTEM VIEW

Toronto Climate Week: Your Invitation to Canada’s Climate Stage

👀 We linked up with the TOCW team to get a sneak preview of what to expect at Toronto Climate Week.

Toronto is stepping onto the global climate stage. From October 1 to 3, the first-ever Toronto Climate Week will bring together Canada’s brightest innovators, community leaders, creatives, and decision-makers in a citywide celebration.

Here’s a sneak peak at what you can expect:

Creative events designed to spark ideas and action.

Get ready for three days where art, science, music, food, and technology intersect. The Centre for Social Innovation will kick off opening night with a solarpunk fashion show featuring local eco-conscious designers, while EY Four Futures: An Immersive Experience blends science and AI visualization to show how action today shapes a sustainable future (this event is coming soon - stay tuned to TOCW’s event calendar for more details).

1. Meet your next collaborator, customer, or investor.

   Whether you’re the founder of an early-stage startup, ready to commercialize, or investing in the next generation of climate companies, TOCW has a space for you. Choose from panels, conferences, workshops, parties, outdoor activities - all designed to build lasting connections and partnerships.

2. Stepping onto a global stage.

   Toronto is joining global hubs like New York, San Francisco, and London in the next stage of the green transition. By attending TOCW, you can stand on a national stage with global recognition — celebrating Canada’s readiness to lead.

3. Showcase for homegrown talent.

   TOCW is a platform for Canadian talent across all disciplines to showcase innovative climate solutions:

4. Showcase for homegrown talent.
   TOCW is a platform for Canadian talent across all disciplines to showcase innovative climate solutions: 
   - From Plate to Planet is a lively, interactive event exploring the connections between food and climate.
   - Health Care Innovations for a Warming World reveals how climate-smart solutions are transforming health systems and improving patient care.
   - Our Climate, Our Voice highlights how suburban communities and marginalized groups are leading on climate action.

5. Find your way to connect.

   Ready to go? Register for events at the TOCW Calendar. Check back frequently for  new events added weekly!

You can also follow TOCW on Instagram, LinkedIn, and subscribe to our Substack for updates.

Plus, attend our info session on September 9 to learn more about participating, and explore our Host Resource Hub for help hosting your own event.

Toronto Climate Week is where bold ideas, big dreams, and real action come together. Now is the time to show up and shape the climate conversation in Canada and beyond.

NEWS

📡 Signals & Currents

🏗️ Quebec partners with Mi’gmaq on renewable energy - The 6 GW, $18 billion project is part of Quebec’s drive to increase clean energy to decarbonize and attract industry. [CBC]

⚡️ Alberta unveils new energy market - The updated rules could put renewable energy projects in the red without grid upgrades to ease congestion. [National Observer]

💰️ Capex back on the menu - Updates to SR&ED tax credits will allow firms to claim capital expenses - a critical hurdle for many hardteh startups that require labs or manufacturing equipment. [BetaKit]

🤝 Institutional investors align on major projects - Large investors and governments are ready to cooperate on major projects like energy infrastructure. [G&M]

🇩🇪 Teaming up on critical minerals - Canada and Germany plan to cooperate on driving more private investment in critical mineral supply chains. [FP]

🏦 Net-zero banking on pause - The Net-Zero Banking Alliance is pausing its activities after high-profile exits. [ESG Today]

☀️ Renewables whiplash - The US will build a record amount of solar capacity this year even as investments in renewables drop 36% from Trump’s policy changes. [Canary]

🌍️ Africa ready to shine - Hockey stick growth in solar panel imports suggest solar is ready to take off in many African countries. [Ember]

🪙 Carbon credit bumper crop - The supply of carbon credits could grow 35x as a focus on integrity builds buyer confidence. [BNEF]

COMMUNITY

🗓️ True North Rising: TOCW’s Official Kick-off: Expect a full day of bold voices, big ideas, and cross-sector collaboration. October 1st, Toronto.

➡️ Discover more climate events.

🧑🏻‍💻 Planetary is hiring a Community Engagement Manager to continue collaborative and community empowerment initiatives around it’s ocean alkalinity enhancement trial.

➡️ Find more open roles.