A new startup is innovating in the space of carbon capture that offers significant improvement in the technology of taking away emissions, cutting costs, and potentially revolutionizing the industry. Mantel – a carbon capture developer, is presenting the first high-temperature, liquid-phase carbon capture system.
It is designed to operate at the high temperatures found inside boilers, kilns, and furnaces which is a new approach in the industry, inherently more efficient and therefore lower cost.
The startup also announced on August 24th, a $2 million investment led by The Engine – the venture firm spun out of MIT that invests in early-stage tough tech companies. New Climate Ventures – an early-stage venture capital firm, also participated in the seed round.
The funding will be used to accelerate Mantel’s technology development, prototype testing and initial deployment. The expansion of carbon capture tax credits in the new Inflation Reduction Act can also present an opportunity for Mantel.
Mantel’s technology is thermally efficient and the lowest in cost. It involves the use of molten salts that selectively absorb carbon dioxide and regenerate a pure stream of CO2 that can be either stored or utilized.
According to the company, as the approach is combined with high operating temperatures, it can reduce energy losses by more than 60%, and cut costs in half.
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“There is a thermodynamic benefit to carrying out a separation process at high temperatures and addressing the thermodynamics is the only way to significantly decrease the cost of carbon capture… By using liquid phase chemistry we can overcome the challenges holding back existing high-temperature approaches, enabling carbon capture’s critical role in the energy transition,” said Cameron Halliday, CEO of Mantel.
Mantel’s solutions are applicable to reduce emissions in hard-to-abate industries like industrial heat, cement, steel, and hydrogen. It is useful in geographies where energy derived from coal, and natural gas is likely to remain prevalent for decades.
The technology can also be utilized for carbon dioxide removal from the air through pairing with biogenic sources of emissions like bioenergy or waste-to-energy.
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The company was founded in 2022 by Cameron Halliday, CEO, Danielle Colson, COO, and Sean Robertson, CTO. It was spun out of MIT and research completed with Professors T. Alan Hatton and Takuya Harada. After the lab-scale flow loop demonstration is achieved, the company plans to use capital to build a commercial scale demonstration plant.
