Deep Sky, Canadian carbon removal company, has announced a partnership with Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) and Microsoft, which have committed to purchasing its initial carbon removal credits. This partnership supports Deep Sky’s goal to capture 10,000 tonnes of CO₂ over the next decade through its pioneering Deep Sky Labs project in Innisfail, Alberta—the first large-scale Direct Air Capture (DAC) initiative in Canada and the world’s first carbon removal innovation centre. The project is designed to advance scalable, energy-efficient carbon removal technologies.
The partnership allows RBC and Microsoft with option to increase their purchases by up to one million tonnes of CO₂ from Deep Sky’s future projects. At Deep Sky Labs, multiple DAC technologies will be piloted and rigorously benchmarked, with eight advanced technologies from global innovators including Airhive, Avnos, Phlair (formerly Carbon Atlantis), Greenlyte, Mission Zero, NEG8 Carbon, Skyrenu, and Skytree. These solutions, operating year-round with access to renewable energy and permanent carbon storage, will undergo life cycle analysis to produce verified carbon credits, validated by third-party registries.
Deep Sky Labs’ tech-agnostic approach enables diverse DAC technologies to be tested and refined under real-world conditions, reducing the delivery delays that have hindered previous carbon removal projects. With RBC and Microsoft’s commitment, this initiative allows carbon credit purchases across multiple DAC solutions, accelerating industry scaling efforts.
“These founding buyers are made up of two companies who recognise carbon removal’s important role in earth’s decarbonisation. In a fragmented market, Deep Sky Labs acts as a focal point for investors, suppliers, customers and other partners who want a defined path to the best carbon removal technologies in the world. This first group to invest catalytic capital in carbon removal gives us more confidence than ever that we can overcome humanity’s greatest challenge and reverse climate change,” said Damien Steel, Deep Sky CEO.
RBC’s Global Head of Sustainable Finance, Sarah Thompson said, “As a founding buyer, RBC is excited to learn alongside Deep Sky Labs and support their journey to develop large-scale CDR innovation. This transaction represents RBC Capital Markets’ Environmental Markets Solutions Group’s first purchase of Direct Air Capture credits.”
“As the DAC space continues to innovate, Deep Sky Labs offers a novel, broad-spectrum approach to evaluate and advance multiple technologies at the same time while streamlining project development for early-stage companies,” said Brian Marrs, Senior Director of Carbon Removal and Energy, Microsoft.
Beyond environmental impacts, the project is set to drive economic growth in Alberta, generating approximately 80 construction jobs and 15 operational roles in Innisfail, with future commercial plants projected to create around 1,000 construction jobs and 150 permanent roles across Canada. Over the next decade, Deep Sky plans to invest over $100 million in the local economy, bolstering Alberta’s role in the carbon management sector.
Deep Sky’s carbon removal credits will be tracked using Measurement, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) technology to ensure compliance with rigorous carbon standards, guaranteeing additionality and durability for companies committed to decarbonisation.
