Key take-aways:
- Climeworks and Deep Sky will explore the development of large-scale direct air capture and storage (DAC+S) projects in Canada, with a pathway to remove up to one million tons of CO₂ from the air.
- A Memorandum Of Understanding brings together the two companies with a shared vision to scale technology, industry, and global partnerships for maximum climate impact.
- With its vast territory and significant potential for clean energy, Canada provides a promising location for large-scale and responsible DAC+S deployment in line with Climeworks’ role to lead the global roll-out of high-quality CDR.
- CDR approaches such as DAC+S need to be scaled up rapidly in the decades to come in order to help limit global warming, in addition to drastic emissions reductions, according to climate science.
- Deep Sky is a project development partner, focusing on energy, sites, and storage exploration and qualification in the near term, while tapping into its local network to assemble key stakeholders to bring such projects to fruition.
Climeworks, a global leader in carbon dioxide removal (CDR) via direct air capture (DAC) technology, and Deep Sky, a Montreal-based CDR project developer, agreed to explore the development of large-scale direct air capture and storage (DAC+S) projects in Canada.
Anchored by a non-exclusive Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), the partnership brings together the two companies under a shared vision to rapidly scale high-quality CDR. Deep Sky, Canada’s leading CDR developer, will work with Climeworks to deploy its proven technology in Canada. Drawing on more than a decade of experience, Climeworks is the world’s first, and currently only, CDR company to operate a large-scale commercial DAC+S facility that verifiably removes CO₂ from the air.
Canada represents a strategic location for the deployment of Climeworks’ DAC+S solution in collaboration with local project developers such as Deep Sky. Its vast territory offers the potential for an abundance of renewable energy, including hydro and wind power, as well as permanent and safe geologic storage of CO₂, both of which will be explored by the two parties under the agreement. Open communication about local needs and expectations is regarded as a key for the collaboration’s success. With its Canadian base, ability to build CDR infrastructure and its team’s vast subsurface experience, Deep Sky is well-positioned to identify stakeholders across the public and private sectors to engage with potential projects.
The collaboration envisions the development of DAC+S projects with a pathway of removing up to one million tons of CO₂, with the target to install the first DAC capacity before 2030. This is a crucial milestone for CDR technologies to reach before further scaling to gigaton capacity. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), CDR solutions such as DAC+S need to remove an estimated 3-12 gigatons of CO₂ every year by 2050 in order to maximize our chances of limiting global warming to 1.5° above pre-industrial levels.
For Climeworks, Canada marks yet another milestone as it leads the global roll-out of high-quality CDR. Across multiple geographies beyond North America (such as Kenya, Norway, and Iceland), Climeworks is advancing toward its ambitious target for an installed capacity at megaton scale by 2030, and gigaton scale by 2050. The collaboration with Deep Sky furthermore sits in the broader context of Canada’s favorable policy environment for DAC and momentum for CDR. Together with Deep Sky and other local partners, Climeworks is looking to deploy its technology in accordance with its principles for high quality, integrity, and to the benefit of surrounding communities.
This announcement marks a new chapter in Climeworks' rapid deployment journey as we solidify our global carbon removal leadership position. Canada's rich, clean energy resources will be catalytic in our endeavour to bring our proven high-quality solution to the country, starting with the collaboration with Deep Sky.
Daniel Nathan, Chief Project Development Officer of Climeworks
“As a team that’s committed to rapidly scaling CDR, we’re pleased to partner with Climeworks to welcome them to the world hub of carbon removal – Canada,” says Damien Steel, CEO of Deep Sky. “Together, we’re laying the groundwork to solidify Canada’s position as the carbon removal capital of the world. We must move quickly to fight global warming, since the climate crisis demands immediate action.”
Na’im Merchant, co-founder and executive director of Carbon Removal Canada, commented: “It’s exciting to see leading carbon dioxide removal companies choose Canada for their carbon removal projects. Our research shows that Canada is a natural destination for carbon removal with strategic advantages that can make us a global leader if we seize the opportunity. With additional policy support we hope to see even more partnerships like this.”