The Biden-Harris administration has announced a funding program of $6bn to accelerate decarbonisation projects in energy-intensive industries like cement. This aims to provide American manufacturers with a competitive advantage in the emerging global clean energy economy.
Through this funding, US cement companies now have the opportunity to accelerate their journey towards net zero, reducing operating costs with lower capital expenditure.
The ‘Industrial Demonstrations Program’ will provide up to 50% of the cost of each project. The Department of Energy (DOE) is seeking first-of-a-kind or early-stage commercial-scale projects and expects to award projects from the highest emitting industries involving cross-cutting technologies that have the greatest potential, directly or indirectly, to achieve significant decarbonisation domestically and globally.
Carbon Re provides AI-powered decarbonisation solutions to the cement industry, driving energy cost savings of up to 10% and carbon emissions reductions of up to 20%.
Our solutions fully match the DOE’s criteria and we are perfectly positioned to act as strategic transformation partners to US cement companies to take advantage of this funding.
Concept papers are due by April 21, 2023, and full applications are due by August 4, 2023.
Background to the announcement
Funded by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act, the Industrial Demonstrations Program will focus on the highest emitting industries, including iron and steel, aluminium, cement and concrete, and other energy-intensive industrial processes. The program aims to achieve a net-zero economy by 2050, and will help strengthen and secure America’s global leadership in manufacturing for decades to come.
The Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED), in collaboration with the Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains (MESC) and the Industrial Efficiency and Decarbonisation Office (IEDO), manages this program.
At the unveiling of the plan, the U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm commented: “Today’s announcement is yet another exciting step in the race to fully decarbonise our heavy industries, and will help drastically reduce harmful pollution while ensuring America’s manufacturing sector is strong and competitive. President Biden’s transformational investments in innovation and clean energy are supporting American industries as they create new economic opportunities across the country while leading the world in clean manufacturing technologies.”
This funding announcement represents more than a $12 billion opportunity to dramatically reduce industrial emissions, which includes $430 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and $5.46 billion from the Inflation Reduction Act combined with more than $6 billion in projected private sector cost share.
DOE will prioritise a portfolio of projects that accelerate industry towards deep decarbonisation, spur follow-on investments for widespread adoption of the demonstrated technologies, enable new markets for cleaner products, and benefit local communities.
To ensure meaningful engagement with the surrounding communities, the program also requires applicants to submit a Community Benefits Plan, creating quality jobs and investing in the American workforce, advancing diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility, and supporting environmental justice. This will help ensure these projects are not causing harm but instead providing tangible benefits to communities that too often have been left behind.
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