Montréal (Québec) — December 17, 2025 — Deep Sky, a Montréal-based company specializing in the development of carbon removal projects, is proud to announce the signing of a framework agreement with the W8banaki Nation, marking an important milestone in the partnership with the Nation. This agreement will apply to all future Deep Sky projects located on the traditional W8banaki territory, including potential sites in Thetford Mines and Bécancour, Québec.

The projects proposed by Deep Sky are located on the Ndakina, the ancestral territory of the W8banaki Nation. Recognizing the importance of meaningful consultation and an authentic partnership with Indigenous rights holders, this framework agreement is the result of several months of constructive dialogue aimed at establishing a solid foundation for collaboration.

The purpose of this agreement is to govern relationships, consultation, impact analysis, and the negotiation of collaboration agreements for any project developed by Deep Sky on the Ndakina. The framework agreement establishes a structured dialogue mechanism between the parties.

In particular, it enables the W8banaki Nation to fully participate in environmental assessment and consultation processes related to projects developed on the Ndakina and to conduct its own analyses of impacts on the Nation’s rights and interests. It also provides for the negotiation of collaboration agreements between the two parties, ensuring concrete measures for accommodation, compensation, and economic participation related to the projects.

“At Deep Sky, we view this partnership with the W8banaki Nation as an important step in our approach to building a meaningful and lasting relationship with the Nation,” said Alex Petre, Chief Executive Officer of Deep Sky. “We deeply respect the enduring connection between the W8banaki Nation and the Ndakina, as well as its role as steward of the land, and we are committed to ensuring that our work contributes to shared economic benefits, environmental protection, and respect for cultural values.”

“This agreement demonstrates how the W8banaki Nation remains a key player in the energy transition. We are open to collaboration, but that collaboration must be grounded in the recognition that these projects are located on our ancestral territory,” said Chief Richard O’Bomsawin of the Odanak Abenaki Council.

Chief Michel R. Bernard of the Wôlinak Abenaki Council added: “Being good partners first and foremost means allowing the Nation to fully understand the projects, analyze their impacts, and ensure that those impacts are properly compensated, in respect of our rights and values.”

W8banaki Executive Director Denys Bernard noted: “This agreement illustrates our constructive approach: we are not consenting to the projects at this stage, but we are creating the conditions for a diligent and rigorous analysis that will make it possible to consider strong partnerships based on respect, knowledge, and transparency.”

By forming this partnership at the earliest stages of project development, Deep Sky and the W8banaki Nation are working hand in hand to ensure that carbon removal initiatives respect and support the rights, culture, and environmental values of the W8banaki Nation. Inspired by the principles of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, this approach reflects a shared commitment to building a relationship based on dialogue, transparency, and reciprocity—essential to the success of projects on ancestral territory.

About Deep Sky

Montreal-based Deep Sky is the world's first multi-technology  carbon removal project developer aiming to remove gigatons of carbon from the atmosphere and permanently store it underground. As a project developer, Deep Sky brings together the most promising direct air carbon capture companies under one roof to bring the largest supply of high-quality carbon credits to the market, commercializing and catalyzing carbon removal and storage solutions like never before. With $130M in funding, Deep Sky is backed by world class investors including Investissement Québec, Brightspark Ventures, Whitecap Venture Partners, OMERS Ventures, BDC Climate Fund, BMO, National Bank of Canada, Breakthrough Energy Catalyst, and more. For more information, visit deepskyclimate.com

About the W8banaki Nation

The W8banaki Nation, composed of the First Nations of Odanak and Wôlinak, is established at the mouths of Alsig8ntegw and W8linaktegw (the Saint-François and Bécancour Rivers). Through W8banaki, the Nation’s Tribal Council, and its Ndakina Office, the Nation asserts its ancestral and treaty rights, conducts impact assessments, and actively participates in territorial consultations to ensure the protection, enhancement, and sustainable governance of the Ndakina, its ancestral territory.

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