Frontier, a major buyer of carbon removal services patronized by tech giants including Shopify, Google, and Meta, has signed a $31.3-million USD ($43.3 million CAD) deal with Dartmouth, N.S.-based Planetary Technologies to help remove atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions through the ocean.
The deal sees Frontier buying carbon removal credits that it claims will eliminate 115,211 metric tonnes of atmospheric CO2 between 2026 and 2030. Planetary’s approach helps the ocean absorb CO2 by adding alkaline minerals like calcium oxide and magnesium oxide to coastal water, breaking down dissolved CO2 and storing it for an estimated 10,000-plus years.
“This is the right project and team to pave the way forward for this promising [carbon removal] pathway.”
Hannah Bebbington,
Frontier
Frontier said Planetary’s methods are ecologically responsible, and that it sees potential in the business. The removal is priced at about $270 USD per metric ton, but Frontier stated that it sees a “credible path” to diverting billions of tons per year at prices between $50 to $160 per ton.
The company claims this could be achieved by using existing coastal facilities, such as cooling water outfalls for power plants.
The methods also include monitor the environment “at every step,” provide transparency, and minimize disruption of natural carbon cycles and ecosystems, according to Frontier. There are potential side benefits, such as improving conditions for both marine life and fishing industries.
Frontier Head of Deployment Hannah Bebbington argued in a statement that Planetary’s “rigorous” measurement and “thoughtful” interaction with local communities, such as the Indigenous Mi’kmaq nation, were vital to scaling the carbon removal system.
“This is the right project and team to pave the way forward for this promising pathway,” Bebbington said.
Planetary CEO Mike Kelland said in his own statement that the deal will help show his firm’s approach works “beyond small-scale trials.” The startup has projects in place in Dartmouth, N.S’s Tufts Cove neighbourhood as well as Norfolk, Va.
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Kelland co-founded Planetary in 2019 alongside climate tech engineer Brock Battochio. The startup has been a bright spot in the Maritimes tech industry, having raised a $15.8-million Series A round in October 2024 for total funding of more than $22 million. This April, it beat out over 1,300 rivals to win one of two XPrize Carbon XFactor Awards for its ocean-based CO2 removal system.
Frontier was established in 2022 with the goal of buying over $1 billion USD in carbon removal services by 2030 and fostering the broader market for these technologies. It serves as a go-between that aggregates demand, streamlines purchases, and screens suppliers.
Planetary represents Frontier’s first coastal agreement. Until now, the coalition has focused on land- and freshwater-oriented systems.
Canada has had a significant impact on the carbon removal industry. Vancouver’s CO280 recently signed a 12-year deal with Microsoft that traps CO2 at paper mills, while Montréal’s Deep Sky launched its first direct air capture facility in Alberta last week.
Feature image courtesy Johnyvino on Unsplash.