DARTMOUTH, Nova Scotia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today Planetary Technologies, the first climate technology company to remove carbon using direct ocean capture while creating renewable fuel and restoring ocean damage from climate change, announced it has raised $7.8 million CAD. Planetary closed pre-seed and seed funding rounds at $4.2 million and received $3.6 million CAD through grant funding. Major investors include Innovacorp and Apollo Projects. Planetary will use the funding to build pilot facilities to deploy its proprietary carbon transition technology, which speeds up the earth’s natural process of removing carbon from the air and safely storing it in the ocean, the largest natural carbon sink on earth’s surface.
Founded in 2019, Planetary – formerly Planetary Hydrogen – is led by an international team of engineers and scientists that has developed a process to safely purify alkaline rocks remaining after mining, then add the alkalinity to the ocean, which rapidly enhances the ocean’s natural ability to draw out and permanently sequester carbon from the atmosphere. The additional alkalinity in oceans locally restores the damage caused by increased acidification due to climate change. The purifying of mining rock also produces clean hydrogen as a by-product, which can be used as a zero-carbon fuel.
“The global community agrees that we need a three-pronged approach to stop the harmful effects of climate change – adapt, reduce emissions and remove carbon – and Planetary’s process does all three, the most critical being our ability to remove carbon dioxide from the air,” said Mike Kelland, Planetary CEO. “Carbon removal will be a trillion-dollar industry by 2050, and Planetary is leading the way by creating a safe, scalable and natural solution to slow climate change and even reverse some of the damage already done.”
Planetary’s approach to ocean carbon dioxide removal is unique in the following ways.
- Carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere up to gigaton scale and sequestered for tens of thousands of years.
- By essentially giving the ocean an antacid, the process can help heal local marine ecosystems harmed by climate change, improving natural growth in animals like coral and shellfish, leading to a better functioning food chain and a healthier regional economy.
- Planetary’s process also creates green hydrogen as a by-product, which can be burned without carbon emissions, allowing carbon challenged industries to limit their use of fossil fuel.
- It also extracts metals from mine waste that can be used in batteries, another important tool for a future low-carbon economy.
This funding will support the launch of Planetary’s pilot plants in Quebec and Nova Scotia, which will demonstrate a scaled version of its patented carbon removal process. The pilot plants will come online in phases beginning later this year and will be integrated with a major oceans research project in coordination with local partners to continually monitor the chemical and biological effects, and fine-tune Planetary’s process.
Planetary is currently selling 3,000 carbon credits with retirement dates of 2025-2027. The company has previously pre-sold carbon credits to Shopify, a leading provider of essential internet infrastructure for commerce, based on carbon removal to be generated by Planetary's pilot plant later this year.
"At full-scale, Planetary’s technology will be a game-changer in reversing climate change," said Shopify's Head of Sustainability Stacy Kauk. “We are confident in Planetary’s trajectory and proud to support this entrepreneurial, tech-driven company through our Sustainability Fund, and we hope other companies will join our efforts to help scale carbon removal."
Planetary’s academic research partners include the University of Dalhousie and University of Miami Basico2 project, an XPRIZE Carbon Removal Student Award Winner. Based on the research of biogeochemist and Planetary Chief Technology Officer Dr. Greg Rau, Planetary’s carbon dioxide removal technology accelerates the earth’s natural carbon cycle, pulling carbon from the air and storing it as a natural component of ocean chemistry for up to 100,000 years.
“Our unique technology has created a way for businesses to genuinely remove carbon from the atmosphere and speed their transition to net-zero,” said Brock Battochio, Planetary co-founder. “By providing the additional benefits of green fuels and restoring ocean health, our technology offers far greater value and impact compared to other approaches.”
Planetary is also testing its carbon transition platform with Brazilian Nickel PLC, a UK-based sustainable nickel and cobalt mining company. Using its technology Planetary is working with Brazilian Nickel to assist Brazilian Nickel on its decarbonization path.
“Everywhere we operate, we’re committed to helping create stronger, more sustainable communities and Planetary is helping us do that,” said Anne Oxley, Technical Director at Brazilian Nickel PLC. “We’re excited to grow this innovative work with them and take meaningful action against climate change.”
Planetary has been recognized for its leadership in climate technology, receiving the OceanShot award from the Ocean Startup Project. The United Nations’ Blue Climate Initiative named Planetary as a semi-finalist for its Ocean Innovation Prize. Foresight Canada calls Planetary one of the most investable cleantech ventures. Planetary Co-Founder Brock Battochio was also named to Forbes’ 2022 30 under 30 Energy List.
About Planetary Technologies
Planetary Technologies, Inc. is a carbon removal leader and innovator headquartered in Nova Scotia, Canada. Planetary’s Accelerated Carbon Transition platform is a patented process that creates effective carbon removal at a gigaton-scale and reduces emissions through a clean alternative to fossil fuels. The company’s platform results in permanently sequestered carbon through Ocean Air Capture, ocean de-acidification and clean hydrogen. Planetary is a graduate of the StartupYard accelerator by Innovacorp, the Cycle Momentum accelerator, and the Canadian Technology Accelerator, was a member for the first Carbon to Value Initiative cohort and is currently enrolled in Creative Destructions Lab’s 2022 Ocean cohort.
