Planetary Plans Second Year of Testing – Entrevestor

Jun 04, 2024

In the wake of successful testing with Dalhousie University last summer, Dartmouth climatetech startup Planetary Technologies is preparing to repeat the collaboration in the coming months.

Founded in Ottawa in 2019, Planetary is developing a process to reduce ocean acidification by releasing alkaline rock or sand into the water, accelerating a chemical reaction that already occurs naturally and enhancing the ocean’s ability to act as a carbon sink. The testing with Dalhousie was conducted with the help of a cold water outflow pipe owned by Nova Scotia Power.

Chief Executive Mike Kelland and CTO Greg Rau originally planned to process waste rock from mining operations into two byproducts: hydrogen, which could be sold, and an alkaline substance that could be added to the ocean. While the technology for that process is still part of Planetary’s intellectual property portfolio, Vice President Kelsey Cuddihy said it has taken a backseat to the work in Halifax Harbour.

“The ocean is the world’s largest carbon sink,” said Cuddihy in an interview. “Over time, it’s been accepting more and more carbon dioxide. Since we’ve been producing so much, the oceans have been accepting too much carbon, to the point that it’s actually starting to become more acidic. … The earth has a beautiful, natural geological cycle that will occur, in which rain will wash down on rocks that will (erode) into the ocean, and they’ll act kind of like an antacid.

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