WASHINGTON — Newly announced investments from the Department of Energy will invest up to $6 billion in decarbonizing heavy industry while creating good-paying jobs and investing in domestic manufacturing capacity. The investments will focus on reducing emissions from industries that are the most difficult to decarbonize through a variety of solutions including clean hydrogen fuel switching, carbon capture and CO2 recycling, utilization of alternative feedstocks, and electric heating with thermal batteries.

“These investments will target overall industrial emissions that are heating the planet, particularly in industries that are difficult to decarbonize, such as steel, cement, and aluminum, but that we need well into the future to support our domestic manufacturing and ensure a transition to cleaner energy,” said Dr. Simone H. Stewart, senior industrial policy specialist at the National Wildlife Federation. “Industrial decarbonization is a critical plank of our transition to a clean energy economy, and these projects would cut more than 14 million metric tons of carbon dioxide each year. We are also glad to see that each project includes a requirement to work alongside communities, giving communities the tools to engage with and participate in decision-making around these projects, while creating new jobs and investing in local economies.”