US Invests $6B in Technologies to Reduce Industries’ Emissions

The United States’ industrial sector serves as the backbone of its economy, yet it also plays a significant role in contributing to climate change. This is due to the substantial greenhouse gas emissions from manufacturing, food processing, mining, and construction.

These emissions stem from various processes, including the combustion of fossil fuels for heat and power, non-energy use of fossil fuels, and chemical processes utilised in producing iron, steel, and cement.

The industrial sector, composed of manufacturing and non-manufacturing in the USA, accounts for around 33% of the country’s energy consumption and 30% of CO2 emissions. Hence, the sector’s large-scale decarbonisation is vital to address climate change and meet the country’s net zero emissions target by 2050.

The US Department of Energy (DOE), under the Biden-Harris administration, announced on 25 March 2024 an investment of up to $6 billion to demonstrate cutting-edge decarbonisation technologies in 33 projects in more than 20 states, targeting the highest emitting and energy-intensive industries such as:

• Cement and Concrete—Six selected cement and concrete projects are chosen to demonstrate a comprehensive set of technologies from carbon capture and sequestration to chemistry changes to reduce emissions at their source, capable of eliminating all CO2 emissions from today’s plants while setting the stage where cement, one of the single largest CO2 emitters, can become net-negative.
• Aluminium and Metals—Five selected aluminium and metals projects include a significant capital injection to decarbonise and revitalise the US primary aluminium industry and world-leading recycling approaches for both aluminium and copper.
• Chemicals and Refining—Seven chemicals and refining projects are selected to demonstrate how one of the world’s largest industries can turn its carbon intensity from a liability into an advantage, increase circularity, and onshore critical supply chains for clean fuels and key electric vehicle components.
• Food and Beverage—The three selected food and beverage projects will demonstrate highly replicable energy efficiency and electrification solutions for low- to medium-temperature process heat across 16 locations.
• Glass—The three selected glass projects plan to validate electric/fuel hybrid furnaces for producing low-emission glass bottles, tableware, and food packaging. This suite of projects will help decarbonise high-temperature heat and set a roadmap for other heat-intensive industrial processes.  
• Iron and Steel—The six selected iron and steel projects plan to demonstrate emerging technologies, including some of the world’s first clean hydrogen-fueled direct-reduced ironmaking facilities, which can eliminate most steelmaking emissions.
• Process Heat – These two projects plan to validate using electric boilers and electric steam production to reduce emissions associated with process heating across various industries. By demonstrating applicability across sectors, these projects will chart a path for addressing one of the biggest challenges in the industrial sector—heat-related emissions. 
• Pulp and Paper—The selected pulp and paper project aims to improve energy efficiency by using a novel membrane instead of heat for a necessary separation process. This technology is highly replicable for many applications, including chemicals and critical materials.  

The US Department of Energy (DOE) selected these projects through the Industrial Demonstrations Program (IDP), where projects will demonstrate novel technologies such as energy efficiency, industrial electrification, low-carbon fuels, feedstocks, energy sources, including clean hydrogen, material efficiency or substitution, carbon capture utilisation and storage, and others. 

The IDP received a combined $6.3 billion in federal funds from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act to support the advancement of transformational technologies necessary to decarbonise the US industrial sector. Private funding of over $14 billion will also match this government investment, delivering up to $20+ billion in total funds.

Click the link for the US sectors and companies selected under the DOE’s Industrial Demonstrations Program.

Overall, the projects are expected to slash over 14 million metric tons of CO2 in the form of avoided emissions annually.

It will also create and maintain tens of thousands of jobs to help expedite the commercial scaling up of the emerging industrial decarbonisation technologies required to meet the US climate goals.