The US government has announced a $430 million investment in 14 projects aimed at boosting the country’s domestic clean energy production. According to financial statistics from the Department of Energy (DOE), the global market for clean energy and innovations that are geared towards carbon neutrality and net zero will be valued at a minimum of $23 trillion by 2030.
The investment by the US government is seemingly very intuitive. This is because the construction and development projects across 10 US states, and the broader southeast region, will not only be progress towards clean energy, but also a source of more than 5 million jobs, and a boost to gross revenue returns to the communities involved and the federal government.
The second round of selections pinned down 14 projects that will be under 13 project managers across 12 states. The 13 managers cover a wide range of specialties including cement manufacturing, cement de-carbonization, natural fiber composites, battery technology, and solar energy.
1. Anthro Energy in Kentucky
$24.9 million will be used to modernize a domestic facility that will produce 12,000 tons of advanced electrolyte annually. The electrolytes will be used in lithium-ion batteries that will power electric vehicles and consumer electronics.
Around 400 construction jobs will be created alongside another 115 permanent ones.
2. CleanFiber with dual locations in Texas and Washington
Each of the mentioned locations is slated to receive $10 million each. Two separate 60,000 square-foot production facilities will be developed in the two states, and are expected to manufacture an advanced form of cellulose insulation from recycled cardboard.
As a project objective, the facilities will fully utilize available manufacturing materials while avoiding landfills and associated carbon and methane emissions.
Approximately 33 full time contractors will be needed during the construction phase of each of the facilities. Once operational, the facilities will support 80 full-time employees and will produce enough insulation material for more than 20,000 homes annually.
3. TS Conductor Corporation in Michigan
A new manufacturing factory will be constructed for the production of High-Voltage Direct-Current (HVDC) conductors following a $28.2 million investment to TS Conductor Corporation. The carbon core transmission conductors made by the company will enable a secure, resilient, and clean grid.
The construction phase of the project will create 425 construction jobs and 163 operation jobs.
4. Furno Material Incorporation in Illinois
$20 million will be directed to the construction of a new, circular, low-carbon cement production facility in Chicago, Illinois. Here, industrial waste will be recycled to make low-carbon cement that is similar to Ordinary Portland cement (OPC).
The project, titled “Project Oz”, will see the novel technology by Furno reduce production carbon intensity by 47% compared to convectional OPC. The facility will also have a >90% reduction in pollutants produced during the manufacturing process.
Around 80 jobs will also be created.
5. Hempitecture Incorporation in Tennessee
$8 million worth of investment will see “Project Appalachian Green Fiber” produce thermoacoustic products and natural fiber composite materials from locally grown, harvested industrial hemp fiber.
These materials will be used in building and packaging materials, and automotive industry.
The project will have openings for 25 full-time jobs, up to 15 construction jobs, and around 50 farming jobs.
6. Infinitum in Texas
A manufacturing facility will be constructed in Rockdale, Texas from a $34 million investment by the US government. The facility will create 125 construction jobs during its construction phase and another 170 operating jobs once completed.
The manufacturing plant will produce heavy copper, high-powered printed circuit boards (HP-PCB) stators that will be used in the making of high-efficiency axil-flux motors. The motors will be used in data centers and are expected to be more efficient and produce less CO2 emissions compared to other induction motors.
Around 125 construction and 170 operating jobs will be created by the project.
7. MetOx International in Southeast, US
Project Arch will see the establishment of an advanced superconductor manufacturing facility after a $80 million investment selection by the DOE. The Houston-based manufacturer produces High Temperature Superconducting (HTS) wire.
The project will expand grid capacity and enable accelerated deployment of renewable energy, electric vehicle charging infrastructure, hyper-scaling of data centers, and large manufacturing loads.
More than 230 jobs are to be created by this project.
8. Moment Energy Incorporation in Texas
Following a $20 million investment, the battery energy storage system (BESS) company will establish a manufacturing facility that will be the first-of-its kind in the US.
This will be the first certified electric vehicle (EV) battery repurposing facility (UL1974 certified) in the US and it will see the enactment of circular economy. EV batteries will be recycled and then used in micro-grids or be made available to commercial and industrial customers. According to the project manager, the repurposed batteries will improve grid reliability, power EV charging stations and reduce demand charges.
The community will also get 50 construction and 200 new jobs from this project.
9. Mainspring Energy Incorporation in Pennsylvania
The fifth most populous state in the US will have a “state-of-the-art” manufacturing facility constructed near Pittsburgh by the construction firm Al Neyer which will partner with the project manager, Mainspring Energy. This follows a $87 million investment by the US government through the DOE.
The project’s production target is 1,000 linear generators annually and this will be a critical component in the effort to transition to a carbon-pollution-free electricity sector in the US by 2035.
According to the energy company, linear generators use a low-temperature, non-combustion reaction with near zero nitrogen emissions using any gaseous fuel and can switch to other fuels seamlessly without hardware changes.
There will be 291 construction related jobs and 600 operation jobs once the ground is broken for the facility.
10. RG Resource Technologies Incorporation in Michigan
The energy solutions company will get $5 million to improve a manufacturing facility that will produce 120,000 units of photovoltaic and thermal capture (PVT) systems in a year.
Annually, the energy produced from this innovation is predicted to be at a rate of 16 MW energy or 64 MW thermal energy system equivalents.
The project will have 160 full-time job positions once operational.
11. Sparkz Incorporation in West Virginia
Sparkz will use the $9.8 million from the investment selection done by the DOE to construct the first-of-its-kind battery plant in the US.
The plant will produce battery-grade iron phosphate that will be used to make lithium-ion batteries. The batteries with the iron phosphate technology are predicted to reduce emissions of up to 154,000 tons of green house gas (GHG). The mentioned GHG emissions are those of cars that (still) use combustion engines.
The project manager states that they will create and retain 75 jobs.
12. Terra CO2 Technology Holdings Incorporation
Terra Technologies will set up the pace for conversion of mining waste to low carbon cement. The $52.6 million investment to the company will be used in the construction of a new manufacturing facility that will produce the low-emission and cost effective cement that is set to replace traditional Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) in future.
Cement emissions are responsible for 8% of global carbon emissions and such projects definitely “set-up-pace” for greener alternatives in the construction and mining industries.
The project will post 61 new job vacancies, up-skilling of up to 144 people from the community, and sponsor 12 federally recognized apprenticeship program positions.
13. Urban Mining Industries in Maryland
The home to the first railroad, through Urban Mining Industries, has a $37 million investment to develop manufacturing plants that will convert recycled glass to high quality, clean, and readily available ground glass pozzolan.
The recycled glass would have otherwise gone to waste in landfills while the ground glass pozzolan will replace up to 50% of carbon-intensive cement in concrete mixes. Compared to traditional pozzolans that utilize slag and fly ash which are of coal combustion and blast furnaces products; this innovative dynamic will ensure the full utilization of recycled glass while drastically reducing embodied emissions from the construction material.
The project will have utility such as: 20 new skilled jobs, climate benefits, environmental conservation, and infrastructural sustainability from the use of the end product materials.
14. CleanFiber dual projects
The fourteenth project is part of CleanFiber’s projects (check project number two) that will manufacture carbon-storing insulation materials in two state: Texas and Washington.
End-notes
The October announcement by the DOE of nearly $430 million to fund projects that are geared towards domestic clean energy manufacturing across several key US states, is a pivotal step in making future energy production and use greener.
The states mentioned are particularly “key” because they were once communities with coal mines or coal plants that had to be shut down due to paradigm shifts in energy production and use, environmental concerns and global climate goals requirements, among other reasons.
This investment is not only infrastructural and economical, but also decisive in matters climate change and job creation.
