The industrial sector presents very specific challenges spanning technology, market, economics, and supply chains. Reaching net-zero goals economically will require more than broad decarbonization tools (e.g., fuel switching, electrification, and carbon capture). Today, 60% of industrial emissions cannot be addressed with cost-effective solutions. To fully decarbonize the U.S. industrial sector in a way that is environmentally sustainable and maintains our competitive edge will require technology solutions that are not yet commercially available or economically viable.

This funding opportunity announcement (FOA) will focus on applied R&D and pilot demonstration for the highest greenhouse gas-emitting (GHG) subsectors, specifically chemicals and fuels; iron and steel; food and beverage; cement and concrete, asphalt pavements, and glass; and forest products. Technology approaches include achieving cost and emissions savings through increased circularity and sustainability across manufacturing to reduce waste and decrease the need for resource extraction. The FOA will fund research, development, and prototype or pilot-scale technology validation and demonstration activities that will accelerate the development and adoption of sustainable technologies that increase efficiency and eliminate industrial GHG emissions for the most energy- and emissions- intensive industrial subsectors. These activities will contribute to a clean and equitable energy economy, bolster the technological and economic competitiveness of domestic manufacturing, and boost the viability and competitiveness of U.S. industrial technology exports.

Industrial decarbonization depends not just on the transformation of isolated industrial unit processes, but also on the development of integrated process and technology solutions that together achieve deep cuts in energy and emissions along with improved economics.

Topic Areas

There are six topic areas in this FOA.

Topic Area 1: Decarbonizing Chemicals & Fuels

• Area of Interest 1 – Advanced Process Technologies to Convert Sustainable Feedstocks to Hydrocarbon Chemicals & Fuels
• Area of Interest 2 – Advanced Processes for Production of Non-hydrocarbon Products
• Area of Interest 3 – Chemicals Value Chain Decarbonization

Topic Area 2: Decarbonizing Iron and Steel

• Area of Interest 1—Alternative Iron Making
• Area of Interest 2 – Ore improvement
• Area of Interest 3—Improving steel recyclability through reducing tramp metal contaminants
• Area of Interest 4—Low-carbon steelmaking

Topic Area 3: Decarbonizing Food and Beverage Products

• Area of Interest 1 – Innovations in Food Packaging
• Area of Interest 2 – Innovations in Commercial Food Service
• Area of Interest 3 – Decarbonization of Alternative Protein Production
• Area of Interest 4 – Energy Input Redistribution in Food and Beverage Processing
• Area of Interest 5 – Reduction of Energy Consumption and GHG Emissions during Post-Harvesting Activities

Topic Area 4: Decarbonizing Building and Infrastructure Materials – Cement and Concrete, Asphalt, and Glass

• Area of Interest 1 – Novel cement formulations in combination with alternative Supplementary Cementitious Materials (SCMs)
• Area of Interest 2 – Novel Lime/Portland Cement Production Processes
• Area of interest 3 – Low-Carbon Asphalt pavement
• Areas of Interest 4 – Glass Decarbonization

Topic Area 5: Decarbonizing Forest Products

• Area of Interest 1 – Novel Dewatering and Drying Technologies
• Area of Interest 2 – Innovative Fiber Preparation, Pulping, and Chemical Recovery Processes

Topic Area 6: Innovative Industrial Pre-FEED Studies Area of Interest 1 – Integration of Clean Hydrogen in the Industrial Sector

• Area of Interest 2 – Carbon Capture for the Industrial Sector
• Area of Interest 3 – Integrated Process Pre-FEED

Topic 6 Candidate Metrics & Targets