The Biden administration today announced its largest investment yet in cleaning up industrial greenhouse gas emissions. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has selected 33 projects in more than 20 states to receive up to $6 billion in federal funding for clean energy technologies. It’s a diverse group, ranging from macaroni and cheese maker Kraft Heinz to manufacturers of chemicals, paper and building materials.
Industrial emissions account for almost a quarter of the country’s heating pollution. It is also widely regarded as the most difficult type of climate pollution to prevent. Alternatives to fossil fuel furnaces and industrial processes lag behind other clean energy technologies. The Biden administration believes it can change that by funding these programs in the hope they can become sustainable models for the broader industry.
“The solutions we fund are replicable and scalable, which means they will set a new gold standard for clean manufacturing in the United States and around the world,” Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said in a news release on Friday. said at the press conference.
“They will set a new gold standard for clean manufacturing”
Kraft Heinz is eligible to receive up to $170.9 million under the program. The company will use the cash to update and electrify 10 facilities in nine states, including its plant in Holland, Mich., which makes its iconic blue-packaged macaroni and cheese.
“Drying all macaroni requires a lot of heat, which creates a lot of emissions. Therefore, this project will deploy clean technologies such as heat pumps, electric heaters and electric boilers to cut emissions by 99%.” Granholm said in a conference call with reporters express.
Ice cream production in Vermont, Missouri and Tennessee will also receive up to $20.9 million in funding upgrades. Unilever will use the money to replace gas boilers with electric boilers and heat pumps. The goal is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the production of Ben & Jerry’s, Breyers, Klondike, Magnum, Popsicle, Talenti and other packaged ice cream products.
Bulleit whiskey maker Diageo Americas Supply will also replace gas heating with cleaner alternatives, backed by up to $75 million in funding. The company plans to use electric boilers and new thermal batteries powered by renewable energy generated on-site at factories in Kentucky and Illinois. Diageo is working with start-up Rondo Energy, which developed the thermal battery with funding from Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Bill Gates’ climate investment fund.
Another 12 projects aim to reduce CO2 emissions from steel, cement and concrete production. Five aluminum and copper projects have also been selected for financing. These are materials critical to building the infrastructure needed to decarbonize the U.S. economy.
Electrifying buildings and machinery can prevent pollution from oil, coal and natural gas – but only if the grid is transformed to run on clean energy. That means laying more wires made of aluminum and copper and reinforced with steel. Concrete, meanwhile, is the world’s most widely used substance after water and itself produces 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
The US Department of Energy believes that the projects it selected can collectively reduce the equivalent of more than 14 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year. This is equivalent to removing 3 million gasoline-powered cars per year. The moves are also expected to reduce other types of pollution from burning fossil fuels, such as nitrogen oxides from soot and smog. The Biden administration says nearly 80 percent of the projects are in poor neighborhoods. Winners must develop a community benefits plan designed to include resident and labor groups in the planning process.
Funding for these projects includes $489 million from the bipartisan Infrastructure Act and another $5.47 billion from the Inflation Reduction Act. Projects selected so far still need to negotiate with the Department of Energy before receiving funding. Senior administration officials said the projects were selected based on an assessment of their ability to reduce emissions, market dynamism, speed of deployment and potential community benefits ranging from new jobs to a cleaner environment.