Brazilian miner Vale invests in US startup as part of decarbonization push

By Marta Nogueira

RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) – Vale Ventures, the corporate venture capital initiative of Brazilian miner Vale, said on Thursday it has invested in a Boston-based startup focused on developing solutions to decarbonize heat generation. 

The firm, Electrified Thermal Solutions, owns technology for heating industrial furnaces through electricity, without the use of fossil fuels, the mining giant said.

The technology has strong potential for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in industrial processes in hard-to-abate sectors, such as the mining and steel industries, according to the mining firm.

“What this startup managed to develop was a technology that uses electricity generated with renewable energy, clean energy, to create heat of up to 1,800 degrees” Celsius (3,272 degrees Fahrenheit), Vale Ventures chief Bruno Arcadier told Reuters. 

The miner invested an undisclosed amount to obtain a minority share in the Boston-based company as part of a $19 million round of funding for the tech firm.