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CALGARY, ALTA. — A Montreal-based company building a Canadian test site for carbon removal technologies has received a US$40-million grant from Bill Gates’ climate solutions venture firm.

Canadian startup Deep Sky announced it was awarded the grant from Breakthrough Energy Catalyst to help build what it calls its Deep Sky Alpha project in Alberta.

The project, being built north of Calgary in the town of Innisfail, is meant to be the world’s first direct air capture carbon removal test hub and commercialization centre.

It is the first Canadian investment for Breakthrough Energy Catalyst, which funds commercial projects for emerging climate technologies in an effort to accelerate their adoption and reduce their costs.

Direct air capture is a term that refers to physically removing excess carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to slow global warming. It is different from the more carbon capture and storage, which refers to capturing carbon from smokestacks or other industrial emissions points.

Pulling carbon dioxide directly from the air is seen by proponents as a way to clean up historic emissions that have already escaped into the atmosphere, meaning it could potentially help slow and even reverse climate change.

But while the number of direct air capture pilot projects around the world is growing, the technology remains expensive and faces steep barriers to wide-scale deployment.

At its Innisfail site, Deep Sky says it will be piloting up to 14 direct air capture projects from companies around the world, in an effort to see which ones work best and could be commercialized.

Carbon dioxide captured at the site will be transported to an existing well at the Meadowbrook Carbon Storage Hub facility north of Edmonton, where it will be injected and stored two kilometres underground.

The company expects its Deep Sky Alpha project to be up and running in the spring of next year.

“Securing support from Breakthrough Energy Catalyst marks another milestone for our company and for the DAC industry,” Deep Sky CEO Damien Steel said in a news release. 

“The financial backing from Breakthrough Energy Catalyst will play a crucial role in helping Deep Sky realize its ambitious goals.”

Mario Fernandez, head of Breakthrough Energy Catalyst, said in a release that Deep Sky’s project represents a unique opportunity to demonstrate several direct air capture technologies and gain a deeper understanding of their potential to lower costs and scale.

“The world will ultimately need many approaches to carbon removal at prices far lower than is achievable today, but Deep Sky’s platform will enable and accelerate the kind of real-world innovation that could make affordable (direct air capture) achievable,” Fernandez said.