Deep Sky Closes in on Its Carbon Removal Facility Pioneer: $40 Million Breakthrough Energy Catalyst Grant Deep Sky, the Montreal-based developer of a carbon removal project, recently achieved an important milestone. It was awarded a commitment of $40 million from Breakthrough Energy Catalyst, an initiative launched by Bill Gates to spur the development of climate solutions. The money will be used to fund the construction of Deep Sky’s first direct air capture facility, Deep Sky Alpha, in Alberta, Canada. A state-of-the-art renewable energy-powered facility, which aims to utilize the cutting-edge DAC technologies to directly draw carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere to be permanently stored underground and is scheduled to begin operation in Spring 2025.
Founded in 2022, Deep Sky has positioned itself as a technology-agnostic player in the carbon removal sector. The company is advancing projects across Canada with a variety of approaches that include direct air and ocean carbon capture, and plans to remove gigatons of CO2 from the atmosphere. Deep Sky Alpha will be the flagship project for the company, which will test and optimize several DAC technologies to drive scalability and cost-efficiency for large-scale commercial deployment.
The Alberta-based facility will utilize 10 advanced DAC technologies, each of which is designed to capture CO2 from the atmosphere. Once captured, the CO2 will be injected about two kilometers underground into geological formations for permanent storage. The reliance of the project on renewable energy, such as hydroelectric and wind power, reflects Deep Sky’s commitment to sustainability and reducing the carbon footprint of carbon removal operations.
Damien Steel, CEO of Deep Sky, is excited about this partnership with Breakthrough Energy Catalyst. “It marks another milestone for our company and for the DAC industry. The financial support will definitely be a key step to help Deep Sky fulfill its ambitious goals. The partnership, however, is much more than just about the funding; Catalyst has already been transformative in its scaling expertise for Deep Sky.
Breakthrough Energy Catalyst, founded in 2021, is a significant part of the larger Breakthrough Energy climate initiative created by Gates and other private investors in 2015. Catalyst is a public-private partnership that brings businesses, governments, philanthropies, and individuals together to invest in scalable, high-impact climate technologies to reach net zero emissions by 2050. Its initial focus areas include direct air capture, green hydrogen, long-duration energy storage, and sustainable aviation fuel. The $40 million grant is Catalyst’s very first investment in a project focused on a Canadian and DAC project.
Head of Breakthrough Energy Catalyst, Mario Fernandez, highlighted strategic importance in Deep Sky Alpha. “We are very proud to support Deep Sky Alpha because it gives a unique opportunity to demonstrate the direct air capture technologies under one roof, which shall help understand deeper its potentials to reduce costs and scale it up, while bringing out permanent carbon removal.”. Fernandez emphasized that affordable and scalable DAC solutions are essential for achieving global climate goals, and Deep Sky’s platform provides a promising avenue for real-world innovation.
Canada’s natural resources and favorable geology made Alberta an excellent choice for Deep Sky Alpha. The region’s abundant hydroelectric capacity, potential for wind energy, and rich geological formations provide the perfect setting for deploying and optimizing DAC technologies. In this way, the project will reduce the cost of large-scale carbon removal so that it can be even more accessible and impactful.
The $40 million grant will primarily fund the construction of Deep Sky Alpha and its associated research and development efforts. These initiatives will focus on refining DAC technologies to enhance efficiency and reduce costs, setting the stage for future commercial-scale applications. Deep Sky aims to use this facility as a testbed for innovation, ultimately contributing to the broader goal of achieving net zero emissions by 2050.
This announcement represents a significant leap forward for the DAC industry and shows growing recognition that carbon removal is an indispensable tool to combat climate change. In demonstrating the readiness of several DAC technologies while exploring routes to cost reductions, Deep Sky Alpha aspires to catalyze a new era of scalable, impactful climate solutions.
In a world struggling to address the sense of urgency surrounding climate change, initiatives like Deep Sky Alpha and partnerships with Breakthrough Energy Catalyst are just beacons of hope in such a desperate time. They show how innovation, collaboration, and strategic investment can pave the way to a sustainable future.