Vale Ventures, Vale's corporate venture capital initiative, has announced an investment in the startup Electrified Thermal Solutions (ETS), based in Boston, USA. The aim is to support the development of the startup, which has created a pioneering technology for heating industrial furnaces without the use of fossil fuels. This technology has strong potential for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in industrial processes in hard-to-abate sectors, such as the mining and steel industries.

Vale Ventures’ minority investment took place as part of ETS’s US$19 million round, along with co-investors. This is the fourth investment announced by Vale Ventures, which in 2022, committed capital of US$100 million to be invested in the development of disruptive solutions for the mining and metals value chain.

“Investing in start-ups with solutions that promote the decarbonization of the mining value chain is one of our key missions,” explains Bruno Arcadier, head of Vale Ventures. “ETS's solution has the potential, in the future, to contribute to the decarbonization of our direct scope 1 emissions, as well as scope 3 emissions, relating to our value chain by generating high temperature heat for industrial processes through electricity instead of fossil fuels.”

Currently, industrial heat processes contribute to an estimated 20% of global greenhouse gas emissions, predominantly from fossil fuels like coal, oil, and natural gas.
ETS's low-cost solution has the potential to replace natural gas in heating, through its innovative electrically-conductive firebrick, which will be able to generate heat at temperatures of up to 1.800 oC, meeting the needs of hard-to-abate sectors. As a thermal energy storage technology, the solution not only eliminates carbon emissions from these processes but can generate cost savings by using low cost zero carbon electricity. Founded in 2020 from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), ETS plans to open its first commercial-scale pilot demonstration plant in 2025.

Vale Ventures

Announced in June 2022, Vale Ventures has committed US$100 million in capital for investments into pioneering technology startups around the world. In addition to ETS, the initiative has already announced the acquisition of stakes in Boston Metal, a startup that develops solutions for decarbonizing steel production; Allonnia, a transformational biology startup; and Mantel, an innovative carbon capture technology startup.

Vale Ventures looks to work with and support startups focused on four themes related to sustainable mining:

• Decarbonization in the mining value chain. Investing in technologies that help Vale and its customers reduce carbon emissions, supporting the company's ambition to become net-zero by 2050;
• Circular mining. Reducing waste and the environmental impact of mining processes, contributing to a circular economy and generating new revenue streams;
• Sustainable mining of the future. Investing in new technologies that will change the way mining companies run their businesses.
• Energy transition metals. Accelerating the sector's ability to supply essential metals for the energy transition and emerging sources of demand;

By assembling a portfolio of disruptive solutions, Vale Ventures hopes to generate financial and strategic returns that benefit Vale, its customers and society.

To find out more and submit ideas, entrepreneurs should visit https://vale.com/en/vale-ventures.