DOE Invests $70M in Decarbonizing, Electrifying Industrial Process Heating

The Department of Energy has announced new investments in the electrification and decarbonization of the U.S. industrial sector. 

DOE issued a $70 million funding opportunity announcement for the establishment of a seventh Clean Energy Manufacturing Innovation Institute focused on electrifying industrial process heating. 

Kelly Speakes-Backman, principal deputy assistant secretary for energy efficiency and renewable energy, called the industrial sector the “economic engine” of the United States, noting that it is responsible for thousands of good-paying jobs.

However, the sector must be decarbonized as it accounts for a third of the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions, Speakes-Backman added.

The new institute will invest up to $70 million over five years in research and development projects focused on low-carbon process heating technologies, DOE said.

DOE added that the effort will involve a coalition of industry, academia and government partners. They will work with a newly established Industrial Technology Innovation Advisory Committee tasked to come up with a comprehensive strategy to decarbonize the U.S. industrial base. 

The advisory committee is expected to bring in a diverse range of perspectives from companies, nonprofit organizations, government laboratories, labor groups, small businesses, independent researchers and others.

In collaboration with the committee, the manufacturing institute will help the United States in its journey toward net-zero emissions, DOE added. 

DOE said the institute will join six other Manufacturing USA innovation institutes funded through the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy‘s Advanced Manufacturing Office. 

According to the website, Manufacturing USA has a total of 16 manufacturing innovation institutes sponsored by the departments of Commerce, Defense or Energy.