Damien Steel’s leadership and departure as CEO of Deep Sky carve an intriguing narrative within the Canadian climate technology arena, spotlighting both the ambitious reach and the gritty trials of pioneering carbon removal solutions. Deep Sky, a rising star in carbon capture realms founded by Hopper CEO Frederic Lalonde, stands poised at the forefront of commercial carbon dioxide extraction from air and oceans—a technology promising to dent atmospheric CO2 levels significantly. Steel’s arrival in 2023, following his tenure as the global head of OMERS Ventures—a Canadian pension fund powerhouse with over $2 billion in venture assets—signaled a strategic thrust for Deep Sky to accelerate growth and operational scaling in a highly challenging sector.
Deep Sky’s vision resonates with the global urgency to counter climate change through cutting-edge solutions, chiefly carbon capture and storage (CCS). Steel’s appointment drew on his impressive two-decade career in venture capital and tech innovation, embodying a shift among seasoned investors pivoting toward sustainability-focused enterprises. This migration isn’t without controversy: Steel’s intertwined connections to OMERS Ventures, Hopper, and Deep Sky sparked scrutiny within Canadian tech circles over potential conflicts, given the overlapping personal and fiscal interests threading these entities. This tension highlights the complexity of navigating leadership in a nascent industry where alliance and competition coexist uneasily.
Under Steel’s helm, Deep Sky hit notable milestones. The launch of its Alberta pilot facility marked Canada’s first commercial direct air capture (DAC) operation, designed to snatch up to 3,000 tons of CO2 each year. This wasn’t merely a carbon sink; it doubled as an innovation playground testing 14 different DAC units side-by-side, aiming at scalable breakthroughs. This ambitious blueprint underscored Deep Sky’s strategic drive to push carbon removal technologies toward gigaton-scale impact—a level required to make climate denting real. By late 2024, securing a 10-year carbon credit pact with giants RBC and Microsoft served as a landmark validation of Deep Sky’s commercial viability, opening doors for fresh capital infusion and industry partnerships.
Yet, the path Steel walked illuminates the brutal reality of leading a climate tech startup in an embryonic industry. Transitioning from the polished veneer of venture capital boardrooms to the trenches of an operational startup thrust him into “the ultimate challenge” as Steel candidly described. Balancing experimental technology development, capital-intensive pilot deployment, and navigating volatile regulatory landscapes demanded a cocktail of operational rigor, big-picture foresight, and deft stakeholder management. His dual role as CEO of Deep Sky and senior advisor to OMERS Ventures reflected a pragmatic play to sustain valuable investor connections and insight flows—critical lifelines in a sector where survival often hinges on financial and collaborative muscle.
Steel’s recent decision to step down for personal reasons arrives at a crucial juncture. Deep Sky stands ready to escalate its pilot operations and chase broader commercialization of its carbon capture innovations. His exit underscores the relentless pressures leaders face in climate ventures, where technical uncertainty, financial risk, and organizational complexity converge unpredictably. But the groundwork laid under Steel’s watch equips Deep Sky with a sturdy platform to advance its mission. His insistence on ambition and relentless perseverance amid a tight venture capital environment mirrors the tough-as-nails mindset climate entrepreneurs must adopt: success demands enduring commitment, despite messy unknowns and setbacks.
Reflecting on Steel’s journey reveals key lessons about leadership at the intersection of technology and climate urgency. Firstly, it showcases how expertise forged in venture capital trenches can successfully migrate into operational leadership when fueled by a clear, urgent mission. Secondly, it spotlights the indispensable need for deep collaboration across corporate partnerships, investors, government, and innovation ecosystems to unlock large-scale carbon removal viability. Thirdly, Steel’s experience underscores how personal resilience and adaptability prove non-negotiable traits for climate tech pioneers navigating uncharted technological and commercial waters.
In essence, Damien Steel’s tenure encapsulates a pivotal transition phase for climate tech startups striving to leap from pilot phases into scalable industrial solutions. His leadership helped position Deep Sky as a shining exemplar of Canadian innovation in carbon capture, blending cutting-edge technology with substantial backing from institutional investors and notable supporters like Bill Gates’s Breakthrough Energy. Although Steel’s departure closes a significant chapter, Deep Sky’s core mission—to develop economically and environmentally sustainable carbon removal at gigaton scale—continues as a clarion call within the wider climate innovation ecosystem. The next leaders will inherit a complex but promising legacy: to harness ambition and pragmatism in equal measure, driving transformative climate action in a sector where the stakes—and the challenges—couldn’t be higher.
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