Vale follows BHP to back electro-based ore reduction to cut Scope 3 emissions

Vale has invested $6 million in US-based global metals technology solutions company Boston Electrometallurgical Company, also known as Boston Metal, to acquire a minority stake and to promote the development of a technology focused on steel decarbonization, the Brazilian iron ore miner said in a Feb. 9 statement.

The announcement comes just one month after Vale's rival, diversified miner BHP, announced that its BHP Ventures unit will back Boston Metal's innovative molten oxide electrolysis (MOE) technology for emissions-free steelmaking.

Major miners are racing to reduce their Scope 3 emissions in order to improve their green credentials and meet decarbonization targets. One of their main focus is to assist customers in the steelmaking industry to reduce emissions via the use of high-grade iron ore and new ore reduction processes, given that blast-furnace steelmaking is held to be responsible for around 9% of global carbon emissions.

Boston Metal is a pre-operating company, founded in 2012 by professors from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), whose objective is to develop MOE to reduce metal oxides such as iron ore with the use of electricity. This will enable steel production with zero CO2 emissions, Vale said.

Boston Metal announced Feb. 9 that Energy Impact Partners, a leading energy transition investor, will also back its initiative. Other new investors in Boston Metal, which recently completed a Series B $50 million fundraising, include Piva Capital and Devonshire Investors, the private investment firm affiliated with FMR LLC, the parent company of Fidelity Investments.The Series B will allow Boston Metal to finance development of its technology, validate its patented inert anode technology at industrial-scale and further expand its team, it said.

Boston Metal said it intends to deploy pilot plants globally within a few years' time, embracing both ferroalloys and crude steel production.

"The investment in Boston Metal is in line with Vale's New Pact with Society strategic pillar," Vale said in its statement. "Vale is committed to leading the transition to net-zero carbon mining and fostering a portfolio of high-quality products and innovative technologies to provide scope 3 solutions."