Industrial Energy Efficiency Grand Challenge Winners announced.

Press Release Summary:



U.S. DOE announced that 48 R/D projects have been selected as winners of Industrial Energy Efficiency Grand Challenge. Grantees will receive total of $13 million to fund development of transformational industrial processes and technologies that can reduce greenhouse gas emissions throughout industrial sector. Funding will be matched by more than $5 million from private industry to support total of $18 million in projects that will enhance energy security and strengthen economy.



Original Press Release:



DOE Announces Awardees for the Industrial Energy Efficiency Grand Challenge



Award winners to receive more than $13 million to develop transformational manufacturing processes and technologies

WASHINGTON, DC - The U.S. Department of Energy announced today that 48 research and development projects across the country have been selected as award winners of the Industrial Energy Efficiency Grand Challenge. The grantees will receive a total of $13 million to fund the development of transformational industrial processes and technologies that can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions throughout the industrial sector. The funding will be matched by more than $5 million in private industry funding to support a total of $18 million in projects that will enhance America's energy security and strengthen our economy.

"Public-private partnerships with industry are a critical way to accelerate the transition to a strong, competitive, clean energy economy in the United States," said Energy Secretary Steven Chu. "These awards allow us to harness the diverse strengths of industry, academia, and our national laboratories to advance energy innovations in our factories and plants."

American industry accounts for more than 30 percent of the energy used nationwide, is responsible for 27 percent of the country's carbon emissions, and supports nearly 13 million core manufacturing jobs. With such a large impact on the nation's economic and environmental interests, the industrial sector remains a major part of the Nation's clean energy equation. This funding announced today will promote breakthrough achievements in the development of energy-efficient technologies and practices that will lower the energy demand of industry, open up new potential markets, and enhance the competitiveness of American business.

Through the Grand Challenge and its Industrial Technologies Program, the Department is working to forge partnerships that capitalize on the leadership and commercialization strengths of industrial companies, harness the innovative research and modeling capabilities of universities, and use the unique development and testing facilities at National Laboratories.

DOE is providing cost-shared funding for concept-definition research and development studies in four main topic areas:

Next Generation Manufacturing Concepts - These manufacturing concepts address the goal of reducing the energy intensity or greenhouse gas emissions of industrial systems by a minimum of 25 percent.

Energy Intensive Processes - These projects address specific technology areas that are expected to generate large energy-saving benefits across a variety of industries and transform the way major manufacturing processes use energy. The following specific technology areas are included: Reactions and Separations; High-Temperature Processing; Waste Heat Minimization and Recovery; and Sustainable Manufacturing.

Advanced Materials - These projects focus on Thermal and Degradation Resistant Materials and Materials for Energy Systems.

Industrial Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction - These projects address transformational technologies that offer not only carbon intensity reductions, but also absolute carbon reductions.

View the full list of recipients and projects selected (pdf - 77kb) for awards.

To learn more about DOE's industrial energy efficiency efforts, visit the Industrial Technologies Program website.

Media contact(s): (202) 586-4940

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