According to U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm, "America's industrial sector serves as the engine of the U.S. economy, producing many of the products we rely on on a daily basis, but also produces a significant amount of the nation's carbon emissions." These initiatives, which are supported by President Biden's Investing in America plan, "will reduce industrial emissions and quicken the development of next-generation technologies for an American-made clean energy future."
One-third of all domestic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the United States come from the industrial sector, which is also one of the hardest to decarbonize. An aggressive, multifaceted strategy that along the way will produce well-paying jobs and build a stronger, more competitive industry is needed to reach a net-zero industrial sector.
The Industrial Decarbonization Roadmap was published by the DOE in 2022. It outlines important strategies for cutting industrial emissions and focuses on five energy-intensive industries: cement and concrete, chemicals, food and beverage, iron and steel, and petroleum refining.
The 40 projects chosen will be led by 36 different colleges, National Laboratories, and businesses dispersed across 21 states, and will be primarily sponsored by DOE's Industrial Efficiency and Decarbonization Office. These subsectors, along with paper and forest products, are responsible for approximately 50% of the energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in the industrial sector. The projects will fund research, development, and pilot-scale demonstrations to reduce energy usage and emissions from these subsectors.