First published in the Carbon Herald October 30, 2025
Written by Sasha Ranevska
Climate action catalyst NorthX (previously known as the B.C. Centre for Innovation and Clean Energy (CICE) announced an investment of ~US$2.4 million (CA$3.4 million) in four carbon dioxide removal (CDR) ventures operating in Canada.
The four funding recipients are CarbonRun, Skyrenu Technologies, NULIFE Greentech, and pHathom Technologies.
Specializing in different CO2 removal pathways, including direct air capture (DAC), enhanced mineralization, aquatic carbon sequestration, and biomass-based CDR, the four initiatives were selected based on scalability, carbon removal durability, and potential to contribute towards a robust Canadian industry.
Based in Nova Scotia, Carbon Run restores the health and CO2 removal potential in rivers. The company leverages hydroelectric facilities as active tools for river restoration, enhancing river alkalinity, sequestering carbon dioxide, and boosting aquatic ecosystems.
Quebec-founded Skyrenu Technologies removes atmospheric carbon emissions via DAC technology. Its reactorless, modular DAC system, validated across Canadian climates, is designed to dramatically lower the CDR costs and energy requirements.
NULIFE Greentech, operating out of Saskatoon, has come up with a carbon removal system that utilizes hydrothermal liquefaction to turn waste biomass into bio-oil that gets safely stored in underground reservoirs.
Last but not least, pHathom Technologies is another Nova Scotia local company that stores CO2 captured from biomass as stable bicarbonates that get permanently sequestered in ocean waters.
This latest investment round brings the total NorthX investments in CDR so far to CA$45 million, spread across 72 different projects. According to the catalyst organization, this financial support is projected to create more than 870 good jobs over the next two years and stimulate over CA$477 million in follow-on investment.
This announcement falls on the same week as the news of Arca Climate Technologies, one of NorthX’s earliest investments, securing an offtake agreement with Microsoft for a volume of nearly 300,000 tonnes of durable CDR to be delivered over the next decade.
