From Lab Discovery to industrial Partnership: The Rise of Mantel
Driven by a desire to create impactful solutions, Dr.Alexander Halliday returned to MIT to pursue a joint PhD-MBA program after being encouraged by a former professor. He sought a path that combined rigorous academic research with real-world request, and the dual program offered precisely that - deep technical study alongside a two-month work experience with a company.
Halliday’s doctoral research, conducted in the lab of Professor Hatton, focused on improving the energy efficiency of carbon capture technology, specifically by operating at the high temperatures found at major industrial emission sources. Previous attempts had been hampered by material degradation under these extreme conditions. A breakthrough came in 2019 with Halliday’s triumphant experiment utilizing molten borate salts.
Recognizing the commercial potential of his research, Halliday leveraged the MBA portion of his program to begin the process of bringing the technology to market. A pivotal experience was participation in MIT’s Course 15.366 (Climate and Energy Ventures), a class known for fostering entrepreneurship – its alumni have launched over 150 companies. The course provided exposure to all stages of company building,offering a tangible roadmap for scaling the technology,from initial “shoebox-sized” prototypes to full-scale industrial implementation. He also met his co-founders through the class.
Founded in 2022, Mantel, the company born from Halliday’s research, initially operated a shoebox-sized system. Following early funding, the team constructed a shipping container-sized system at The Engine, an MIT-affiliated startup incubator, which has been operational for nearly two years.
In 2023, Mantel announced a significant partnership with Kruger Inc. to build a larger-scale system at a factory in Quebec. This plant is currently slated to begin a two-year test phase, with potential for expansion across Kruger’s facilities if successful. Halliday emphasizes that this project is crucial for demonstrating the capture efficiency and energy-saving benefits of Mantel’s technology, ultimately reducing the risk associated with wider adoption.
Mantel is currently engaged in discussions with approximately 100 potential industrial partners globally,spanning sectors like refineries,data centers,cement and steel production,and oil and gas. The system’s design allows for adaptability across diverse industries without requiring significant modifications.
While Mantel focuses solely on carbon capture - not conversion or sequestration – Halliday points out that capture represents the largest cost component in the overall CO2 value chain. Moreover, the captured CO2 is of high quality, suitable for transport via pipeline and use in industries such as food and beverage production (e.g., carbonation).
Halliday believes Mantel offers a pragmatic solution for industries facing increasing pressure to address carbon emissions. ”It means they don’t have to shut down their billion-dollar asset and reimagine their business,” he explains. “This is a pragmatic solution that’s not trying to reshape the world as we dream of it. It’s looking at the problem at hand today and fixing it.”
