Brazil's Vale steps up focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions

Brazilian mining giant Vale is stepping up efforts to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. 

The company, via venture capital arm Vale Ventures, unveiled an investment in US-based startup Electrified Thermal Solutions (ETS).

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, Vale said in a press release.

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

The size of the investment was not disclosed, but the company said the minority investment was part of ETS’ US$19mn funding round with several co-investors.

It marks the fourth investment announced by Vale Ventures, which in 2022 committed US$100mn to developing disruptive solutions for the mining and metals value chain.

“Investing in startups with solutions that promote the decarbonization of the mining value chain is one of our key missions," said Bruno Arcadier, head of Vale Ventures.

The ETS solution has the potential “to contribute to the decarbonization of our direct scope 1 emissions, as well as scope 3 emissions, related to our value chain by generating high-temperature heat for industrial processes through electricity instead of fossil fuels," he said.

Currently, industrial heat processes contribute to an estimated 20% of global greenhouse gas emissions, predominantly from fossil fuels like coal, oil, and natural gas.

Separately, Vale announced the conclusion of negotiations with the US Department of Energy’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations to kick off the first phase of a project to develop an industrial-scale briquette plant in the state of Louisiana.

In this phase, more than US$3.8mn in awarded funds will be applied to engineering studies and community engagement throughout 2025.

"This project envisages industrial-scale production of Vale’s innovative iron ore briquette, customized for the direct reduced iron (DRI) route. The plant’s intended capacity is 1.5Mt/y, with potential for expansion. Compared to traditional iron ore pellet production, this innovative technology offers a significant reduction in CO2 emissions, sulfur oxides (SOx), and nitrous oxides, in a process with minimal water use," Vale said.

The iron ore briquette contributes to Vale’s commitment to reduce 15% of its scope 3 net emissions by 2035. The company also aims to reduce its absolute scope 1 and 2 emissions by 33% by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, in line with the Paris Agreement.