The first single largest industrial decarbonisation investment is due to be made and it has come about through President Biden’s Investing in America agenda. This will be the largest investment made to this industrial sector within America’s history.

The first focus for these investments will be directed towards the highest emitting industries that show the potential to offer significant change and the largest impact. This first wave will be focused on companies that work with aluminium and other metals, chemicals and refining, cement and concrete and finally iron and steel. Once the investments have been made, the expectation is for them to reduce the equivalent of more than an estimated fourteen million tons of Co2 per year.

As part of this scheme, many of the projects which receive the investment will be scheduled to deploy innovative and novel emissions-reducing technologies. These technologies will be deployed as they have the ability to create sector-wide adoption and transformation, this will have the effect of multiplying the magnitude of the emissions cut and consequently supporting the future of U.S. manufacturing.

The selection process which was used to determine which projects would be selected for award negotiations, was carefully performed, as the thirty-three projects all purposefully represent difficult-to-decarbonise industries. The projects that were placed under consideration included, seven projects focused on chemicals and refining, six cement and concrete projects, six iron and steel projects, five projects dedicated to aluminium and metals, three glass projects, three food and beverage projects, one pulp and paper project and finally two process heat-focused projects.

The focus for the funding has been dedicated to these industrial sectors, as statistics have shown that almost one-third of the nation’s overall greenhouse gas emissions is produced by these specific sectors. The investment to be made will be accompanied by the selected projects leveraging over $20 billion altogether, which will be put towards the effort being made for demonstrating commercial-scale decarbonisation solutions, that will help the specific industrial sector get closer to reaching net-zero emissions. The plan is for all the chosen projects to cut carbon emissions by an average of 77%.

The plan that has been formed around this decision to invest, takes into account the unique and complex decarbonisation challenges that each project presents. Due to these specific challenges, the solutions that will be created and provided to these projects, will also be unique and innovative. Some key factors that these decarbonisation solutions will consider, are the multiple pathways such as energy efficiency, electrification and alternative fuels and feedstocks, for instance, clean hydrogen that could be useful options for the projects to consider taking step forwards with. So far, the first projects which have been chosen to select the funding, are all part of the Industrial Demonstrations Program which is managed by the DOE’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED). Furthermore, the selected projects will also help to strengthen America’s manufacturing and industrial competitiveness. The funding that will be supplied to these projects includes $489 million, which will come from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and a further $5.47 billion will be supplied by the Inflation Reduction Act.

Whilst this funding is being made to the project OCED has also decided to ensure that engagement around these projects is occurring and continuous. To do this, the organisation has announced that they will hold a number of national and regional virtual briefings which will be designed to provide information on selected projects. It will also aim to introduce OCED’s approach to clean energy demonstrations whilst also offering the chance for industry and communities to engage further on specific projects of interest.

U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm, commented, “Spurring on the next generation of decarbonization technologies in key industries like steel, paper, concrete, and glass will keep America the most competitive nation on Earth. Thanks to President Biden’s industrial strategy, DOE is making the largest investment in industrial decarbonization in the history of the United States. These investments will slash emissions from these difficult-to-decarbonize sectors and ensure American businesses and American workers remain at the forefront of the global economy.”