Shopify Inc. Agreed to Provide $13.5 Million to Nine Projects

Shopify, the e-commerce company has agreed to provide $13.5 million to nine projects in its latest round of carbon-removal purchases. 

The recipients include a startup that retrofits cooling towers to help cool the planet. Around 2 million cooling towers remove heat from HVAC systems and Industrial processes by bringing hot water into contact with a stream of air.

Another San Francisco startup, Noya Inc founded in 2020 has developed a system that captures carbon dioxide from those air currents. Its strategy is one way of removing carbon from the atmosphere, a challenge many scientists say is essential for keeping global warming in check.

Stacy Kauk, director of the company's sustainability fund based in Ottawa, said Shopify's latest deal will bring total funding for carbon removal projects from 2019 to $32 million.

The carbon removal industry is developing rapidly. According to Kauk, about 200 companies have joined Shopify's latest procurement round, forming nearly half of the top 25 applicants over the last three years. Of the nine startups funded by Shopify, "we're the first buyers of four startups, showing that new companies are joining the ecosystem," she added.