Map: DOE Injects $43 Million into Industrial Decarbonization Projects | ACHR News

As the clock ticks towards the Biden-Harris administration's ambitious target of a net-zero emissions economy by 2050, the Department of Energy is placing its bets on a suite of industrial technologies to drive down greenhouse gases from one of the country's hardest-to-abate sectors.

This month, DOE announced over $43 million in funding for 21 projects aimed at transforming how industry uses energy, tackling challenges from process heat to wastewater treatment. Read detailed descriptions of them all in the map below.

Jeff Marootian, DOE's principal deputy assistant secretary for energy efficiency and renewable energy, framed the investments as a win-win for both the climate and America's economic competitiveness.

"These investments will help the United States meet the Biden-Harris administration's goal of a net-zero economy by 2050," Marootian said. "Through the deployment of cost-competitive technology solutions, the U.S. industrial sector can increase global manufacturing competitiveness while reducing emissions in communities across the country."

The projects fall into two buckets: a $38 million funding opportunity focused on cross-sector technologies and a partnership with the Electrified Processes for Industry without Carbon (EPIXC) Institute. DOE's cross-sector approach recognizes that many decarbonization challenges cut across different industries, from chemicals to cement. By advancing technologies with broad applicability, the aim is to create solutions that can be tailored to various subsectors.