Three of the five startups chosen to pre-sell carbon credits to Toronto’s MaRS Discovery District under its Mission From Mars program are based in Halifax -- Carbon Run, Planetary Technology and Gaia Refinery.
The pre-purchase deals will involve MaRS receiving the credits gradually over the course of the next three years, as the companies work to implement their nascent technologies. Although MaRS did not reveal the value of the individual purchase agreements, it said in a statement it is buying credits worth a total of 84 tonnes of carbon dioxide, roughly equivalent to the production of 19 passenger vehicles.
“This purchase may seem small, but as one of the first charitable organizations in Canada to do this, it is expected to have an outsized impact by supporting the initial development and adoption of this crucial technology while also creating awareness of its need and potential,” says the organization.
“MaRS will also share learnings from the purchase process with corporate and ecosystem partners with the aim of building domestic demand for Canadian carbon removal solutions and the carbon credits that result from their deployment.”
Carbon Run is the brainchild of CEO Luke Connell, Dalhousie hydrologist Shannon Sterling and freshwater ecologist Edmund Halfyard. The trio have developed a system for adding natural limestone to rivers with the goal of increasing alkalinity, which can produce a chemical reaction that helps trap carbon to eventually be sequestered in the ocean.
"I’m thrilled about the exciting prospects that lie ahead with CarbonRun’s new approach to carbon dioxide removal," said Sterling in a statement last fall. "By enhancing the natural capacity of rivers to drawdown carbon, our solution has the potential to play a pivotal role in our arsenal against climate change.
"River-based carbon dioxide removal offers valuable advantages: it is remarkably swift and easily quantifiable, delivers tangible ecological benefits, and can empower local communities in the process."
Founded by CEO Genny Shaw and CTO Tammy Cai, meanwhile, the Saint John-based Gaia is developing carbon sequestration technology that combines two processes, direct air capture and biomass conversion. Direct air capture is the process of using vertical panels to filter greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere, and biomass conversion refers to using plant material to store greenhouse gases.
Shaw said during a phone call that part of what makes Gaia's technology innovative is that the two processes assist each other, making the system more efficient.
And Planetary Technology has developed a system to convert alkaline rocks left over from mining operations into a substance called bicarbonate, which it plans to release into the marine environment to counteract ocean acidification and chemically extract carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Helmed by CEO Mike Kelland, the company was announced as one of 100 finalists for the US$100 million Carbon Removal XPRIZE, which is funded by the Elon Musk Foundation and will award its grand prize in 2025. Planetary and the other finalists were chosen to receive the award from a field of 1,133 entrants.
"Planetary's latest submission to the XPRIZE competition was no joke, with many hours of review, scrutiny, and diligence going into it," wrote Director of Procurement Omar Sadoon in a social media statement. "That's why it's an incredible honor for our Planetary team to be called amongst the best in the world as a carbon removal solution."
