Last week, Calgary-based CURA secured $14 million in seed funding to scale its decarbonized cement technology, which promises to dramatically cut emissions from one of the world’s most carbon-intensive industries.
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which → base → industries
Cement production is responsible for eight per cent of global CO2 emissions, much of it released chemically when limestone is heated in kilns to make the material.
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limestone → release → material
CURA’s patented electrochemical process tackles that problem upstream, separating limestone into calcium and CO2 so the carbon can be captured before the product reaches the kiln, which can reduce emissions by up to 85 per cent.
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which → tackle → cent
Most of the funding will go toward a pilot plant near Taber, Alta., which the company anticipates will start operating in early 2027.
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company → go → 2027
The raise comes at a tumultuous moment for climate technology.
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raise → come → technology
Earlier this month, the Trump administration repealed Biden-era carbon-emission limits on U.S. coal and gas power plants, part of a broader retreat from existing environmental protection policies.
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administration → repeal → policies
But Phil De Luna, CURA’s co-founder and CTO, says other markets are moving in the opposite direction.
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markets → say → direction
During last week’s Canada Investment Summit, Prime Minister Mark Carney highlighted electrification, critical minerals and clean technology as key areas of opportunity, and Ottawa is deepening ties with Europe, where carbon pricing and tariffs are creating stronger incentives for low-carbon industry.
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pricing → highlight → industry
“The U.S. has turned its back on sustainability and its allies, but the world will not wait for them,” De Luna says.
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Luna → turn → them
“Canada and Europe see an opportunity to strengthen their ties and redouble efforts in economic diversification, innovation and climate.”
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Canada → see → diversification
According to De Luna, the carbon removal industry is entering a more pragmatic stage of maturation, with innovation increasingly focused on integrating with existing industrial systems rather than replacing them outright.
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innovation → accord → them
Cement is a case in point: while emissions can be mitigated by using alternative feedstocks such as carbon-free calcium silicate rock, supply chain hiccups and regulatory standards can deter widespread adoption.
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hiccups → mitigate → adoption
CURA’s technology, however, works with existing limestone-based production processes and can be used to retrofit current infrastructure in cement plants.
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technology → work → plants
“It’s not about reinventing the wheel,” De Luna says.
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Luna → ’ → wheel
“It’s about how we make that wheel better and, in doing so, make what we already use cleaner and less carbon-intensive.”
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use → ’ → what
That evolution dovetails with changes in how companies pay for decarbonization.
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companies → dovetail → decarbonization
Earlier this year, news broke that Microsoft was pausing new carbon removal purchases, exposing the vulnerability of the market.
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Microsoft → break → market
(The tech giant accounted for about 90 per cent of the carbon removal credits purchased in 2025.)
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giant → account → 2025
Because those credits involve paying someone else to remove carbon rather than buying a physical product, it can be difficult for companies to fully grasp their value, says De Luna.
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Luna → involve → value
He expects corporate spending will increasingly favour environmental attribution certificates tied to products like sustainable aviation fuel or lower-carbon cement.
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spending → expect → fuel
A company building a California data centre, for instance, could help finance lower-carbon cement produced in Alberta without incurring the expense and emissions of shipping it thousands of kilometres.
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company → build → kilometres
Like renewable energy credits, these certificates separate the environmental benefit from the physical product, allowing companies to fund decarbonization elsewhere in the supply chain.
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companies → separate → chain
For De Luna, this evolution reflects a broader process of market experimentation: finding the most efficient ways to align financial incentives with the goal of cutting emissions.
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evolution → reflect → emissions
“For too long, there’s been a myth that being good for the environment means sacrificing productivity and economic development,” he says.
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he → mean → productivity
“But over the last decade, we’ve seen economies lower emissions while continuing to grow.
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economies → see → emissions
Now the question is how we can leverage these market instruments to accelerate decarbonization even further.
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we → leverage → decarbonization
Google enters AI space race
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Google → enter → race
As AI demands put pressure on existing networks, tech corporations are scrambling to find new locations to set up data centres.
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corporations → put → centres
As public pushback gains momentum, outer space has become a key site for prospective infrastructure.
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space → gain → infrastructure
Earlier this year, Elon Musk’s SpaceX applied for FCC approval to launch a massive fleet of satellite-based data centres; in August Toronto’s Kepler Communications activated its low-Earth-orbit optical relay network, becoming the first company to power up a commercial data service in space.
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Communications → apply → space
And this week, Google announced it is moving forward with Project Suncatcher, which will launch an exploratory satellite into orbit on Oct. 1 with the aim of determining “whether space could one day host scalable machine learning infrastructure.”
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space → announce → infrastructure
Quebec health tech firm lands Swiss deal
Rimouski, Que.–based Nosotech, which has developed a platform to monitor infectious diseases and flag outbreaks, outshone a host of international contenders to secure a major contract with Swissnoso, the entity that oversees infection prevention and control protocols in Switzerland.
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that → land → Switzerland
Nosotech will receive $15 million over the next decade to establish digital infrastructure (including surveillance software and data analytics tools) to identify and prevent healthcare-associated infections.
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Nosotech → receive → infections
Upping Cancon in the grocery aisle
According to Statistics Canada, more than a third of retail businesses reported an increase in sale of Canadian products over the past year.
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third → up → year
To meet the growing demand for local goods, Purchs, a startup based in Innisfill, Ont., has launched a marketplace that makes it easier for retailers to find Canadian grocery suppliers.
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retailers → meet → suppliers
By the numbers
$50 million (U.S.): How much the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan has invested in Harvey, a Canadian venture that is developing AI tools for legal professionals.
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that → invest → professionals
$25 million: The amount TD has committed toward a partnership between its AI research division, Layer 6 and Cohere.
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TD → commit → division
The investment, which will be allocated over the next three years, will support efforts to explore how Cohere’s secure AI models can be integrated into TD’s operations.
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models → allocate → operations
$5.4 million (U.S.): How much funding Toronto-based Thri5 has secured to grow its team and bolster market strategy for its agentic AI tool for retailers.
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Thri5 → base → retailers
> 0: The potential risk that, if left unchecked, rogue AI agents will cause a catastrophic event, according to Prime Minister Mark Carney.
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agents → leave → Carney
…and 1 more, not listed.
The Aporia
