Climate tech startup Planetary Technologies wins $1M XPRIZE Carbon Removal Milestone Award

Planetary Technologies of Dartmouth, NS, has been awarded the XPRIZE Carbon Removal Milestone Award for its accelerated carbon transition platform. Planetary’s unique innovations leverage the planet’s ability to store carbon as a natural component of ocean chemistry.

Planetary Technologies will use the $1 million prize to achieve a full-scale demonstration of its technology. Along with removing and storing carbon, Planetary’s carbon removal process also creates renewable fuel and restores some of the damage climate change has already caused in ocean ecosystems.

“We’ve developed a critical tool to restore our climate and our oceans,” said Planetary CEO Mike Kelland.

“With XPRIZE’s validation of our technology, we can accelerate our development to reach our target scale of removing one gigaton of carbon every year.”

Planetary’s proprietary technology purifies mine waste into a mild, nontoxic antacid which is then released into the ocean through existing, regulated outfalls such as wastewater or stormwater streams where it is consistently monitored.

When mixed with seawater, the antacid restores the ocean’s pH levels and accelerates the ocean’s natural process of pulling carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Restoring the ocean’s balance also helps to reverse the damage caused by ocean acidification resulting from climate change.

The $100M XPRIZE Carbon Removal challenge is a four-year global competition funded by Elon Musk and the Musk Foundation that invites teams to create and demonstrate solutions that can sequester carbon durably and sustainably.

While more than 1,100 teams registered in the competition, only 15 were chosen as milestone winners, and Planetary is the only one with the four key benefits of a carbon transition solution: carbon removal from the atmosphere, green hydrogen production, mine waste cleanup, and ocean restoration.

The panel of over 70 expert, independent judges and reviewers is internationally recognized across the fields of carbon removal, climate innovation, energy transition technology and natural ecosystems.

“Shopify is proud to have been working with Planetary through our Sustainability Fund since early 2020, and as their first customer we’re confident that their ACT Platform is a game changer for carbon removal,” said Stacy Kauk, Head of Sustainability, Shopify. “We are excited to continue helping them scale their solution and help reverse climate change.”