US government invests US$135m in 40 carbon reduction projects

The US Department of Energy (DOE) has announced $135m in funding for 40 projects that will reduce carbon pollution from the industrial sector and move the nation toward a net-zero emissions economy by 2050. Decarbonising the US industrial sector is seen as an essential component of President Biden’s ambitious clean energy goals. 

"America’s industrial sector serves as the engine of the US economy, producing many of the products we rely on every day, but also produces a significant amount of the nation’s carbon emissions," said US Secretary of Energy, Jennifer M Granholm. "These projects funded by President Biden’s Investing in American agenda will slash industrial emissions and accelerate next-generation technologies for a clean energy future that’s made in America."

In 2022 the DOE released the 'Industrial Decarbonization Roadmap', which identifies key pathways to reducing industrial emissions and focuses on five energy-intensive sub-sectors where industrial decarbonisation efforts can have the greatest impact: cement and concrete, chemicals, food and beverage, iron and steel, and petroleum refining. 

Primarily funded through the DOE’s  Industrial Efficiency and Decarbonization Office, the 40 selected projects will be led by 36 different universities, national laboratories, and companies spread across 21 states. The projects will support research, development, and pilot-scale demonstrations to reduce energy usage and emissions from these sub-sectors, which account for over 50 per cent of the energy-related carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions in the industrial sector, as well as paper and forest products. 

Five projects in the cement and concrete sector will receive a total of US$16.4m. In the US cement industry, CO₂ emissions are split between process-related emissions from calcination, accounting for about 58 per cent of the total, and energy-related CO₂ emissions, responsible for the remainder. Projects selected under this topic will focus on next generation cement formulations and process routes and carbon capture and utilisation technologies to address both sources of CO₂ emissions. 

The five projects are located at Calcify dba Carbon Capture Machine (Fairfield, CT), Cornell University (Ithaca, NY), SkyNano LLC (Knoxville, TN), University of Kentucky (Lexington, KY) and Washington State University (Pullman, WA).