ImpactAlpha, August 24 – The Engine, an MIT-spinout venture fund, is known for betting on very early-stage “tough tech.” Its latest investment: Boston-based Mantel, which is developing molten-salt-based carbon capture technology for high-temperature environments, such as boilers and furnaces.
Recycling the heat from these systems can cut energy losses from existing carbon capture processes by up to 60% and reduce costs by half, the company says. That’s key for industries where “low-cost carbon capture is a critical need,” said The Engine’s Michael Kearney. “Net zero emissions can be a cost-efficient, achievable reality.”
The Engine invested in Molten’s $2 million seed round alongside New Climate Ventures.
Tough tech
The Engine was an early investor in Commonwealth Fusion Systems, which in December raised $1.8 billion to edge the company’s fusion technology toward delivering “net energy” by 2025. Its portfolio also includes Form Energy, a long-duration battery company also backed by TPG Rise Climate. Sublime Systems is making zero-carbon cement. Via Separations is slashing the energy required to produce pulp, paper and other materials. Foray is bioengineering plant-based materials like wood in a lab, in hopes of curbing deforestation.
