Brazilian mining company Vale has announced an investment in US-based carbon capture technology developer and startup Mantel, aiming to support the startup's development and recognize that its technology has the potential to help achieve decarbonization plans in the mining and steel industries. Mantel will use the capital invested by Vale to build a demonstration plant with the capacity to capture 1,800 mt of carbon emissions per year.

Mantel utilizes molten borates, the only material that can capture carbon in a high-temperature liquid phase, reducing capture costs by more than half compared to traditional capture technologies. Vale said that with the use of Mantel's carbon capture technology, steel production can achieve zero emissions even if natural gas is used as energy in the direct reduction path.