The US Department of Energy has announced that US$6B in federal funding will subsidize 33 industrial projects in 20 states to cut carbon emissions and promote stable employment, boosting US competitiveness, according to Reuters.
Energy secretary, Jennifer Granholm, is set to unveil the awards during a visit to a Cleveland-Cliffs Steel Corp facility in Middletown, Ohio, which will receive up to US$500M to install two new electric arc furnaces and hydrogen-based technology to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 1Mt.
The initiative represents the largest industrial decarbonization investment in US history, and will leverage US$20B, including the companies share of the costs. Combined, the projects are expected to eliminate 14M metric tonnes of pollution each year—the equivalent of taking 3M gas-powered vehicles off the roads.
The funding comes as Biden’s presidential reelection campaign ramps up, with the democratic president and other key officials traveling to split political states to push the administration’s economic policies.
The projects would slash emissions from heavy industries such as iron and steel, cement, concrete, aluminum, chemicals, and food and beverages, which currently account for around a third of US carbon emissions.
Furthermore, Century Aluminum will receive up to US$500M to build the first new American primary aluminum smelter in 45 years in the Mississippi River basin. The project will double the size of the current US primary aluminum industry and skirt 75% of emissions from a traditional smelter.
Dow Chemical will also receive up to US$95M for a US Gulf Coast facility to use approximately 100,000 tons of CO2 annually to produce key components of electrolyte solutions needed for electric vehicle batteries, while Kraft Heinz will get up to US$170.9M to upgrade and decarbonize operations at 10 facilities, reducing annual emissions by more than 300,000t of carbon dioxide year on year.
The US Department of Energy has underlined that nearly 80% of the projects are in disadvantaged communities that had experienced years of divestment.
