Montreal-based carbon removal company Deep Sky plans to build one of the world’s largest direct-air-capture facilities in southwestern Manitoba—a project it says will anchor a new Canadian clean-tech industry.
The facility, called Deep Sky Manitoba, is designed to eventually remove up to 500,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year from the atmosphere. The company says the first phase—a $200-million build scheduled to begin in early 2026—will handle about 30,000 tonnes annually.
CEO Alex Petre says the company has narrowed its preferred location to the rural municipalities of Pipestone and Two Borders, chosen for their underground geology and access to Manitoba’s clean hydroelectric power.
“We’re looking for the right geology—and that region actually showcases very good geology for us,” Petre said. “We’re also looking for access to renewable power, which is really important for our operations.”
Unlike Deep Sky’s Alberta site, where captured CO₂ is transported elsewhere for storage, Petre says the Manitoba project will capture and store carbon on the same site.
“The facility will actually have the capture and the storage co-located,” she said. “That’s great for a number of reasons—first and foremost, we don’t have to transport, and second, we can actually control the storage process ourselves.”
Deep Sky estimates more than 1,000 construction jobs will be created across multiple phases, with hundreds of long-term operational positions once the site is fully built.
“It’s a huge site,” Petre said. “We’ll need operators for the capture facility, operators for the well, and a lot of maintenance folks. Manitoba actually has a very suitable labour force to help us with this.”
Petre says the company’s existing Deep Sky Alpha facility in Alberta, which captures up to 3,000 tonnes of CO₂ a year, will help determine which technologies are used in Manitoba.
“We’re going to have a much smaller portfolio of technologies—really only a handful of the ones down-selected once we see the operational data and the performance they have in Alberta,” she said.
The Manitoba facility will be built in phases, with later stages using progressively improved and more efficient carbon-capture systems.
“The technology actually evolves through the phases,” Petre said. “We need to get better and better—with increasingly better energy efficiency and longer-lasting sorbents—and only the best technologies will get deployed as we build.”
Petre says the company has been working closely with local municipalities and First Nations leaders ahead of construction.
“We’ve spent a significant amount of time with the communities, and we have their support for this project,” she said. “That’s a really wonderful place to begin our journey together.”
The company has also signed a Declaration of Relationship with the Dakota Grand Council, representing the Dakota Nations of Manitoba, to explore investment and partnership opportunities.
Dakota Grand Council Chair Raymond Brown said the partnership aligns with long-term community goals.
“Our Dakota long-term economic development strategy is to partner with and invest in sectors that align with our vision of a sustainable ‘Tokata’ (Future),” Brown said. “Deep Sky leadership clearly share that vision, along with some of North America’s largest and most innovative companies.”
Deep Sky says the Manitoba project will rival the world’s largest existing carbon-capture facilities.
“It rivals exactly the capacity of the Stratus facility in Texas,” Petre said. “But a key difference is that we will only be using the CO₂ for injection and permanent storage, whereas that facility will also use it for enhanced oil recovery.”
Petre says Canada’s stable policy environment and clean energy mix give it a chance to lead globally.
“I really think we have a unique opportunity in the next couple of years to put Canada on the map for global carbon removal—now more than ever,” she said.
Business Minister Jamie Moses says Manitoba’s support for the project reflects its growing role in clean-tech development.
“Deep Sky’s selection of Manitoba for one of its first commercial carbon removal and storage facilities highlights our province’s commitment to cutting-edge technologies like direct air capture,” Moses said. “This project not only reinforces Manitoba’s leadership in reducing global CO₂ emissions but also contributes to building a modern, advanced economy.”
Deep Sky expects construction to begin in the first quarter of 2026, following drilling and testing of the project’s first storage well.
