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Welcome to The Production Line, a monthly snapshot of industrial innovation news delivered straight to your inbox. This month’s newsletter will take approximately 7 minutes to read.
Reach out to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Industrial Efficiency and Decarbonization Office at iedo@ee.doe.gov with any industrial inquiries or suggestions.
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Upcoming Deadlines
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Recent News & Funding Opportunities
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 Happy Manufacturing Day From IEDO’s Director!
Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, was Manufacturing Day! Today, the manufacturing sector creates more than 13 million stable, good-paying jobs in American communities and is a key economic multiplier and driver of national productivity. However, the industrial sector is currently responsible for 38% of the nation’s CO2 emissions. To ensure the health, opportunities, and well-being for future generations, we need to aggressively reduce the CO2 emissions that the sector creates. Decarbonization presents a vital opportunity to not only transform industrial systems, but to create jobs and healthier communities for Americans across the country.
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As we take this opportunity to reflect on Manufacturing Day and IEDO’s two-year anniversary, we have much to celebrate. In the last two years, IEDO has invested more than half a billion dollars to advance innovative technologies, supported the launch of two new Energy Earthshots™, and launched DOE's newest Manufacturing USA institute—the Electrified Processes for Industry without Carbon (EPIXC) Institute to electrify industrial heat. IEDO continues to invest in public-private partnerships, such as through flagship programs like the Better Plants and Better Climate Challenge programs and the recently announced Industrial Sustainability, Energy Efficiency, and Decarbonization (ISEED) Collaborative. We are building on the strong foundation that began with DOE’s Industrial Decarbonization Roadmap to chart a detailed course of how to pursue multiple pathways to industrial decarbonization. Our upcoming Pathways for U.S. Industrial Transformations vision study is informed by two years of national lab modeling, numerous stakeholder workshops, and a recent RFI. We are excited to continue the path forward and to work with all of you to build a clean, decarbonized industrial sector.
Sincerely,
Avi Shultz, IEDO Director
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Highlights
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$43 Million for Projects To Drive Industrial Decarbonization Through Cross-Cutting Technologies
On Oct. 8, 2024, DOE announced more than $43 million in selected projects to support the development of transformational technologies essential for reducing energy use and greenhouse gas emissions across industrial subsectors. With 16 projects selected as part of a $38 million funding opportunity on cross-sector technologies and five projects selected for $5 million in partnership with the Electrified Processes for Industry without Carbon (EPIXC) Institute, these investments will drive industrial emissions down while increasing America’s manufacturing competitiveness in global markets. DOE’s investments in cross-sector technologies address common decarbonization challenges across the U.S. industrial sector.
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$3 Million To Support and Expand America’s Industrial Decarbonization Workforce
As the United States strives to reach net-zero carbon emissions, IEDO is working to ensure the future manufacturing workforce is equipped to help industry decarbonize, improve efficiency, address climate and environmental concerns, and promote a more equitable economy. Thus, IEDO launched the ISEED Collaborative, an initiative that helps organizations develop and disseminate instructional curricula and training programs focused on industrial sustainability, energy efficiency, and decarbonization. Learn how to apply and how many future manufacturing workers the collaborative could reach. Attend informational office hours at 2 p.m. ET on Oct. 23, 2024, and apply by 5 p.m. ET on Nov. 1, 2024.
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Water Reuse Congressional Report
Check out the Water Reuse Interagency Working Group’s report to Congress that is now available on the Environmental Protection Agency’s website. The Water Reuse Interagency Working Group develops and coordinates actions, tools, and resources to advance water reuse across the United States. The working group is also charged with continued leadership of the National Water Reuse Action Plan. Building upon the National Water Reuse Action Plan’s success, the working group continues to drive technical, financial, and institutional progress on water reuse by leveraging the knowledge of scientists, policymakers, and local experts to create a more resilient water future for communities of all sizes.
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Pilot Project To Calculate the Emissions Intensity of Certain Industrial Products
On Sept. 25, 2024, DOE announced a pilot project to measure the greenhouse gas intensity of certain industrial products. Global demand is rising for essential materials that are made with a low level of emissions. The White House Task Force on Climate, Trade, and Industrial Competitiveness seeks to work with Congress, stakeholders, and trade partners to develop greenhouse gas intensity measurement tools and approaches for select industrial products. DOE will support this work by combining data from existing sources to help build rigorous, timely, and accurate statistics on the greenhouse gas intensity of certain energy-intensive industrial products, starting with U.S. production.
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Better Project and Better Practice Award Applications
DOE wants to recognize Better Plants partners for innovative and industry-leading achievements in decarbonization, energy and water efficiency, and waste reduction. Applications for Better Project and Better Practice awards will close on Jan. 22, 2025.
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In Case You Missed It |
Calling all photographers with an eye for decarbonization! IEDO’s Framing the Future: Industrial Technologies Photo Contest is still ongoing. This is a new prize in search of the best photos of the innovative technologies, processes, and people that will help the United States achieve a decarbonized industrial sector and a net-zero emissions economy by 2050. Everyone from amateur to professional photographers are invited to submit up to 10 photos by Nov. 21, 2024. Contest winners will be awarded up to $2,000 for a photo in one of six categories.
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Explore the 2024 Better Buildings Progress Report to learn more about how manufacturers and other large energy users have collaborated with IEDO through the Better Plants and the Better Climate Challenge initiatives. Through these programs, IEDO has helped 317 industrial partners located at 3,700 facilities to save $14.1 billion in energy costs.
To build a clean, decarbonized industrial sector that puts American communities at the forefront of our work, IEDO requires applicants to our funding opportunity announcements to submit community benefits plans. Did you miss Part 1 of the Considering Communities in Industrial Decarbonization webinar series, which featured thought leaders who provided a high-level discussion of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility, energy equity and environmental justice, and workforce opportunities? Watch the video recording to learn more on how to develop an excellent community benefits plan.
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Check out several newly published reports with case studies from IEDO’s Industrial Technologies Validation program, which aims to drive decarbonization in the industrial sector by evaluating the performance claims of promising emerging, and/or underutilized technologies. The program will help strengthen U.S. manufacturer competitiveness and resiliency by accelerating the development of next-generation technologies, helping scale emerging technologies, and catalyzing market adoption.
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Job & Fellowship Openings
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Check out these open opportunities:
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Register for the Better Plants program’s virtual training on industrial steam systems. This virtual training will be performed by industrial experts and technical account managers using online video communication technologies. It will comprise 2.5-hour online trainings that will be delivered on every other Wednesday and Thursday at 10 a.m.–12:30 p.m. ET for four weeks. Participation in these virtual trainings is free and open to all members of the U.S. manufacturing industry.
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Join the General Services Administration, in partnership with the White House Council on Environmental Quality, for the Supplier Accelerator webinar series, which empowers and equips federal suppliers with information on existing federal resources and tools that can advance their organization’s climate and sustainability objectives. This special three-part webinar series is designed for sustainability, procurement, and operations leaders to learn about opportunities created by the Inflation Reduction Act that can help them lower emissions while improving operations, increasing efficiency, and transitioning to clean power. Register to attend one or all three webinars:
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Oct. 16, 2024: Federal Climate and Energy Programs for the Private Sector
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Oct. 23, 2024: Programs and Tax Credits for On-Site Renewable Energy, Efficient Buildings, and Clean Vehicles
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Oct. 30, 2024: Buying Carbon Pollution-Free Electricity More Rapidly and Effectively.
Register for this year's FORUM24 Environment, Health, and Safety & Sustainability Management Forum. IEDO’s Andrew Whitlock will speak at the Better Plants session on Oct. 29, 2024, at 4–5: 15 p.m. ET, Assessing Decarbonization Options To Achieve Climate Goals, and discuss how to leverage DOE’s free programs and resources to achieve their climate goals and best practices for evaluating decarbonization projects.
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