NorthX catalyzes the rise of Canada's carbon removal industry
With four new strategic investments and a major portfolio breakthrough, NorthX is shaping a globally competitive carbon removal sector
TORONTO, Oct. 29, 2025 /CNW/ - Today alongside Minister Tim Hodgson at the IEA's 2025 Energy Innovation Forum, NorthX Climate Tech (NorthX) announced it is investing $3.4 million in four Canadian carbon removal ventures through its Call for CDR Innovation launched earlier this year: CarbonRun, Skyrenu Technologies, NULIFE Greentech, and pHathom Technologies.
At the same time, one of NorthX's earliest CDR investments, Arca Climate Technologies, a leader in industrial mineralization, announced a major milestone, securing an offtake agreement with Microsoft to deliver nearly 300,000 tonnes of durable carbon removal over the next decade.
Arca's breakthrough validates NorthX's early investment strategy and demonstrates how Canadian innovation, when supported in the right way and at the right moment, can compete on the world stage.
"The next generation of clean growth will be built by Canada's world-class innovation ecosystem," said The Honourable Tim Hodgson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources. "By backing Canadian companies at critical early stages, NorthX is helping turn Canadian ingenuity into global leadership -- showing how strategic public investment can unlock private capital, create good jobs, and position Canada at the forefront of the low-carbon economy."
Canada now stands among global leaders in CDR, with two NorthX-backed homegrown companies Arca and CO280--a carbon removal project developer working in collaboration with North American pulp and paper mills--ranked among the world's top ten for engineered CDR offtake agreements.
"NorthX exists to turn Canada's climate ambition into jobs, technology, and industries that didn't exist a few years ago--today's announcements show that vision in action," said Sarah Goodman, President & CEO of NorthX. "Arca's landmark offtake agreement is a defining moment for a company we backed early, and our four new investments mark the next wave of carbon removal innovators. Together, they show that Canada is out front in an emerging industry that's beginning to scale globally."
Investing in CDR at scale
NorthX's Call for CDR Innovation is accelerating Canada's momentum in advancing the next wave of CDR solutions, with $3.4 million in investment in four ventures scaling diverse approaches to CDR, including direct air capture, enhanced mineralization, aquatic carbon sequestration, and biomass-based pathways. Each was chosen for its potential to scale, deliver permanent carbon removal, and contribute to building a robust domestic industry.
The NorthX-funded CDR innovators are:
- CarbonRun: Transforming hydroelectric facilities into active engines of river restoration and climate mitigation, enhancing river alkalinity while simultaneously sequestering carbon and strengthening aquatic ecosystems.
- Skyrenu Technologies: Pioneering a reactor-less, modular direct air capture system--tested across Canadian climates and designed to dramatically lower the cost and energy use of carbon removal.
- NULIFE Greentech: Utilizing hydrothermal liquefaction to transform waste biomass and agriculture residues into bio-oil for storage in underground reservoirs, reducing waste management costs for feedstock suppliers.
- pHathom Technologies: Turning captured CO₂ from biomass into stable bicarbonates for permanent sequestration in our oceans, without disrupting the natural marine pH balance.
With this new funding, NorthX has now invested $45 million across 72 projects, projected to create more than 870 good jobs over the next two years and catalyze over $477 million in follow-on investment.
Investing in carbon removal
The next wave of global growth will come from technologies that can tackle emissions where traditional decarbonization falls short. Some industries face prohibitively high costs to decarbonize, while others lack a feasible pathway for the foreseeable future. Scalable, durable carbon removal solutions are emerging as a cornerstone of this growth, unlocking new markets and long-term competitive advantage. By advancing CDR innovation, Canada can attract new private investment, create high-quality jobs, and contribute to the broader global energy transformation.
About NorthX Climate Tech
Founded in 2021 with an initial investment from the Government of Canada, the BC Government, and Shell Canada, NorthX Climate Tech (NorthX) is a catalyst for climate action, funding the climate hard tech solutions that transform industries and build lasting prosperity.
Rooted in British Columbia but global in vision, we unite visionaries, investors, industry, government, and partners to scale technologies that drive deep decarbonization and economic growth for Canada. Like the "X" on a map, we pinpoint that pivotal moment when potential is immense, but capital is scarce, that place where local strengths become global solutions.
SOURCE NorthX Climate Tech
Media Contact: Lindsay Chan, NorthX, [email protected]
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