Vale Ventures Invests in Electrified Thermal Solutions

By Marta Nogueira

RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) – Vale Ventures, the corporate venture capital initiative of Brazilian miner Vale, announced on Thursday an investment in Boston-based startup Electrified Thermal Solutions, which focuses on developing solutions to decarbonize heat generation.

Electrified Thermal Solutions owns technology for heating industrial furnaces using electricity rather than fossil fuels. Vale highlighted the technology's potential to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions in challenging sectors like mining and steel production.

"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)," said Vale Ventures chief Bruno Arcadier.

Vale invested an undisclosed amount to acquire a minority share in the company as a part of a $19 million funding round for the tech firm.