In a move to reduce carbon emissions in the industrial sector, the U.S. Department of Energy has selected 33 projects to share up to $6 billion to take steps to address carbon levels in what it calls “difficult to decarbonise’, such as cement and concrete, and iron and steel.
Break records
Announcing the winning projects on March 25, DOE Secretary Jennifer Granholm said the program represents “the largest investment in industrial decarbonization in U.S. history.”
The DOE said the projects, some of which include building new facilities or upgrading existing ones, will reduce the equivalent of more than 14 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year.
The Inflation Reduction Act, also called the Climate Act, provides $5.47 billion of the federal total; the Jobs and Infrastructure Investment Act provides the other $489 million.
When private sector funding is added in, the DOE estimates that the total funding for the projects exceeds $20 billion.
In demand
The DOE did not immediately release funds. The sponsors of the selected projects will begin negotiations with the DOE to review the budget and other aspects of their plans.
Interest in the grants was high. The DOE said it reviewed 411 “concept papers,” which requested a total of more than $60 billion in federal funds.
Seven projects are in chemistry and refining, six in cement and concrete and another six in iron and steel. Also selected were: five projects in aluminum and other metals; three in food and beverages; three in the glass industry; two in project-heat; and one in pulp and paper.
Of the 33 winners, five projects received the largest allocation, a maximum of $500 million.
Cement and Steel
Two possible recipients of this level of subsidy are in the cement and concrete industry:
Heidelberg Materials US Inc. was chosen for a cement plant decarbonization project in Mitchell, Ind. The company said the project would “capture, treat and prepare for storage or use approximately two million tonnes of CO2 per year”.
Chris Ward, president and CEO of Heidelberg Materials North America, said in a statement, “This substantial federal funding will help create the first large-scale deployment of carbon capture and storage at a cement plant in the US.”
The National Cement Co. of California, Inc. was selected for its net zero cement plant in Lebec, California.
Two others chosen to negotiate $500 million in grants are in the iron and steel sector: SSAB Americas, proposed a hydrogen-powered, zero-emissions steelmaking project in Perry County, Miss., and a possible expansion of its existing installation in Montpelier. , Iowa, this would include greater use of renewable energy.
Chuck Schmitt, president of SSAB Americas, said in a statement: “We see strong interest in sustainable products in the marketplace and this project provides a critical opportunity to solidify a first-mover advantage for the American industry.”
The company is the North American unit of the Swedish steel company SSAB
Also on the $500 million list was Cleveland-Cliffs Steel Corp. for an electric and hydrogen-ready melting furnace facility, a hydrogen-ready and electric melting furnace facility in Middletown, Ohio. The company said its plans call for replacing its existing blast furnace at its Middletown works with a hydrogen-ready direct reduction iron plant and two 120 MW electric melting furnaces. These furnaces would “feed molten iron into the existing infrastructure already on site,” the company added.
The company also said the project would create 1,200 construction jobs when construction reaches its peak.
The other potential $500 million awardee is in the aluminum and metals category, a proposal by Chicago-based Century Aluminum Co. for a “green” aluminum smelter. Century CEO Jesse Gary said in a statement that the project would be “a huge win for the domestic primary aluminum industry and the broader American economy . . .”
With the help of the financing, Century plans to build what it says is the first primary aluminum smelter in the US in 45 years. When completed, the smelter would double the size of the current US primary aluminum industry, according to Century.
Century hopes to build the smelter at a site within the Ohio/Mississippi River basins. This project is expected to generate more than 5,500 construction jobs.
