Hey there,

Quebec will be home to the world’s first hub for carbon removal mineralization. Launched by Carbon Removal Canada and Frontier in a former Quebec mining town, they’re taking a big swing at bringing the cost of carbon removal down. We’ll look at what this shared infrastructure unlocks and how it could be a model for other sectors.

Elsewhere in climate tech:

p.s. I’ll be in Vancouver next week for Web Summit / ClimateGlobal - If you're around and want to grab a coffee, give me a shout!

What happened: Carbon Removal Canada and Frontier launched the world's first mineralization hub at Thetford Mines, Quebec - a site that could deliver 400-700 Mt of carbon removal valued at $60-175 billion. The goal: bring together the right structures and supports to make mineralization the cheapest pathway for carbon removal.

The context: Surficial mineralization grinds up specific types of rock that absorb CO2, converting it into stable carbonate minerals and locking it away permanently.

Minimal energy inputs and low-cost materials like mining waste make it a promising pathway for scalable carbon removal. Frontier's modelling suggests costs could reach <$80/tonne.

The details: The hub, in partnership with local ecosystem partners, brings together the pieces that mineralization startups need to test and scale:

Frontier is also bringing R&D grants and pre-purchases to the table, combining infrastructure with real demand signals.

Why it matters: Projects face real barriers: high startup costs, securing large sites with enough feedstocks, and rigorous measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) requirements.

Shared infrastructure breaks down these roadblocks and unlocks economies of scale.

And it's not just mineralization: Shared infrastructure solves the same upfront barriers wherever permitting friction, community buy-in, and measurement costs stall deployment like geothermal or hydrogen and clean fuels.

The bottom line: Frontier's model puts surficial mineralization under $80 per tonne at scale. If the model proves out at Thetford, Quebec's 800+ megatonnes of mine tailings become the feedstock for something much larger.

Canada's climate challenge isn't an invention gap; it's a scaling gap. The Climate Solutions Prize Festival (June 8–9, Marché Bonsecours, Montréal) is where innovation gets moving. Founders, investors, researchers, and policymakers. Seven thematic tracks. One ecosystem. One mission: accelerating climate solutions from breakthrough to scale.

Innovation in Motion. Be part of it.

Secure your tickets now.

Opalia (Montreal, QC) closed a $3.2 million seed round led by Nàdarra Ventures to scale its cell-based milk. Opalia replicates milk at the cellular level, producing dairy products without cows.

NorthX invested $3 million into industrial decarbonization, including CURA (low-carbon cement), ShiftX (low-carbon hydrogen) and Kinitics Automation (replacing methane-venting devices for natural gas operations).

Electra Battery Materials secured a $20 million investment from the federal government to build its battery-grade cobalt refinery in Northern Ontario.

Emissions Reduction Alberta invested $41 million across nine projects to reduce emissions in energy and construction.

Estian Partners launched to invest in resource recovery projects across North America, starting with municipal wastewater plants. Estian is led by Laura Zizzo who previously founded Manifest Climate.

Arca partnered with Carbon Direct to accelerate its carbon credit sales by leveraging Carbon Direct's network of buyers.

Dispersa got the regulatory greenlight to commercialize biosurfactant made from food waste in the U.S.

Deep Sky partnered with French energy company ENGIE, who will buy up to 15,000 carbon removal credits from Deep Sky's Alpha test facility Alberta and collaborate on R&D for direct air capture.

Giatec partnered with Silvi Materials to deploy its concrete monitoring technology across a fleet of 360+ ready-mix trucks.

Hypercharge Networks acquired EV charging network Eddie from AXSO, expanding its EV charging network by over 2,700 ports while AXSO will focus on its charging software solution.

H2O Innovation acquired Dutch water treatment company bestUV to expand its water treatment portfolio.

Novonix sold its battery technology unit to its founder and former CEO, refocusing on building its synthetic graphite business.

The Carbon to Sea Initiative launched a Canadian entity, Carbon to Sea Canada, in Halifax to expand research and support for ocean-based carbon removal.

Nuclear strategy: Canada will develop a new Nuclear Energy Strategy by the end of 2026. It includes four pillars: enabling new builds, global exports, expanding uranium and fuel production, and supporting Canadian innovation in fission and fusion.

Photonics spin out: The National Research Council's Canadian Photonics Fabrication Centre will be spun out into a commercial entity. Photonics allow faster, more efficient data transfer, critical for data centres and autonomous vehicles.

Economic Update: The Spring Economic Update (i.e. mini-budget) included little progress on key climate tech supports like funding for the IRAP Clean Technology program while extending carbon capture tax credits to enhanced oil recovery and lower tax rates for LNG facilities.

E-Bike rules: Ontario is seeking public input on new e-bike rules that would create multiple classes for power-assisted bicycles and create clarity for micromobility companies.

QUICK HITS

🗓 ClimateGlobal: ​ClimateGlobal brings together the international operators, investors, and founders who are navigating a new global landscape. May 12th, Vancouver.

🗓 Forward Summit West: 1,000+ leaders. 150+ Indigenous communities. Canada’s top companies. May 13-14th, Calgary.

🗓 Toronto Climate Week: Seven days of ideas, solutions, and collaboration with participants from across Canada and around the world. June 1–7th, Toronto.

🗓 Lessons from the Front Lines of Cleantech Deployment: Hear from founders with real deployments customers and hard-won lessons to share. June 2nd at Toronto Climate Week.

🗓 World Geothermal Congress: Uniting industry leaders, researchers, and visionaries to shape the future of geothermal energy. June 8-11th, Calgary.

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Thanks to the folks who shared events for this week’s newsletter! Got something to share? Let us know hello@climatetechcanada.