Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations | U.S. Department of Energy

🚨 New Publication Alert 🚨: OCED Investment Value Proposition  OCED’s strategic position within the emerging energy and industrial technology investment landscape primarily focuses on bridging the funding gap for FOAK and early-of-a-kind commercial-scale demonstrations that do not yet fit the desired risk-return profile (perceived or actual) of the private sector. OCED’s investment philosophy is centered on accelerating commercialization for emerging energy and industrial technologies. Beyond the success of individual projects, OCED seeks the success of the portfolio broadly, pursuing the “return” of “commercial liftoff”—i.e., the point where a technology establishes a largely self-sustaining market that that can attract a wide range of capital providers with different risk appetite—in each investment area (rather than a financial return to OCED). To achieve commercial liftoff, a technology must realize cost reductions and learning improvements achieved from continued deployments at scale. The report is a must-read to understand OCED’s value proposition and investment philosophy. Read the full publication here: https://lnkd.in/e7Nzk6Fe

New Funding Alert: OCED announced up to $1.8B in reoccurring funding to help catalyze the direct air capture (DAC) industry by offering new pathways to commercialization. This funding will support an ecosystem of projects designed to provide DAC technology and project developers with support at various stages on their commercialization path and ultimately spur the growth of additional Regional DAC Hubs.     OCED is planning to host an informational webinar on Monday, January 13 at 2 p.m., ET to discuss the funding announcement. Register for the webinar here: https://lnkd.in/g7GW7Usg Learn more and apply here: https://lnkd.in/gMkuM8aZ

This week, OCED awarded six projects across two programs committing more than $660 million of federal funding. 👏    OCED issued two grant awards in Alaska under the rural and remote program. The first plans to install air-source heat pumps in 240 tribally owned homes and community facilities on Prince of Wales Island—a location only accessible by small aircraft or ferry. The second plans to improve energy resilience in the Arctic Circle by upgrading the region’s power plant infrastructure to enable the integration of a 525 kW solar photovoltaic system and a 990 kWh battery energy storage system. 🔋    OCED also awarded four projects under the Industrial Demonstrations Program:   ▪️ Diageo plans to partner with Rondo Energy and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to upgrade beverage facilities by replacing natural gas-fired heat with Rondo Heat Batteries, electric boilers, and other thermal solutions.   ▪️ ExxonMobil aims to enable the use of hydrogen in place of natural gas across high heat-fired equipment using new burner technologies for ethylene production, a chemical feedstock used in manufacturing.   ▪️ Nippon Dynawave Packaging Co. plans to demonstrate the viability of Via Separations’ membrane technology to potentially scale across other domestic pulp and paper mills and other industrial sectors, such as chemical manufacturing.  ▪️ Technip Energies in partnership with LanzaTech plans to use a biotech-based carbon recycling process and low carbon intensity hydrogen to create sustainable ethanol and ethylene.  🏆 Learn more about all this week’s awarded projects: https://lnkd.in/eDj4Hu4k      Stay up-to-date on all future awards, funding opportunities, news announcements, upcoming events, and more, subscribe to our newsletter today 👉 https://lnkd.in/eDJVVENA 

🚨 Funding Alert: Up to $1.3 Billion in new funding for up to 11 Point-Source Carbon Capture Large-Scale Pilots, Commercial Demonstrations, and Networked Infrastructure Planning and Design projects. Through this funding opportunity, OCED aims to bolster the development and commercialization of carbon capture, utilization, and storage technologies with significant investments targeting the design, stakeholder engagement, construction, and operation of large-scale point-source carbon capture projects. Concept papers are due March 1, 2025, by 5 p.m., ET and full applications are due by July 1, 2025, by 5 p.m., ET.    OCED is also planning to host an informational webinar on January 15, 2025, at noon, ET to discuss the funding announcement. Register for the webinar here: https://lnkd.in/eSRbhZJY View the funding opportunity and apply here: https://lnkd.in/e9ibm9Yj

Thanks for having us! In early December, five OCED team members took the stage at #Deploy24 to participate in dynamic speaking discussions about accelerating clean energy technologies across the country. OCED also took part in several dozen meetings during DOE Office Hours.   More than 1,800 government, energy industry, and financial sector leaders came to this year’s event, answering the call to demonstrate, deploy, and decarbonize. See you all next year!   #Deploy24 #AmericanInnovation #CleanEnergy

🏆Winners worth celebrating! 🎉 Congratulations to the newest winners of U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Manufacture of Advanced Key Energy Infrastructure Technologies (MAKE IT)!

🚨 Clean Energy Alert 🚨 Today, OCED issued its intent to fund up to $30 million for Pilot-scale Rapid Operational Validation of Key Energy Infrastructure Technologies (PROVE IT) projects. Through this upcoming funding opportunity, OCED’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program will support small businesses conducting operational validation of a pilot-scale unit before it can be deemed ready for a large-scale demonstration project or its commercialization and deployment. Check out the NOI’s details here 👉 https://lnkd.in/eHmwmzv7

Today, OCED announced awards for four projects in four states, committing up to $536 million of federal funding. 🥳    ◾The Gallo Glass Company plans to demonstrate the use of a hybrid electric furnace to reduce natural gas use by up to 70%, increase recycled content in its glass bottle production process, and demonstrate cradle-to-gate reductions in carbon intensity of more than 40% compared to traditional gas-powered furnaces.     ◾At two copper mines in Arizona, Freeport-McMoRan aims to use of the area’s naturally occurring geothermal clean heat for recovery of copper, a critical mineral that is difficult to access, from previously mined material. The team also plans to implement microgrid technologies to reduce mining emissions and improve reliability for both the mines and the surrounding community.     ◾Vale USA plans to build a first-of-its-kind iron ore briquette production facility in the United States. The facility will use low-emissions alternatives to traditional iron ore pellets as a feedstock for metallics and steel production. Vale USA expects to reduce CO2 emissions by approximately 60% and reduce some air pollutants like sulfur oxides by roughly 99%.    ◾The Star e-Methanol project led by Ørsted P2X US Holding LLC intends to use captured carbon dioxide from a local industrial facility to produce up to 300,000 metric tons of e-methanol per year and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80% or more compared to traditional production methods. This project expects to demonstrate both the supply and demand for clean hydrogen-derived alternative fuels for the marine shipping and transportation sector.      🏆 Learn more about all this week’s awarded projects: https://lnkd.in/e6KmWzTi     Stay up-to-date on all future awards, funding opportunities, news announcements, upcoming events, and more, subscribe to our newsletter today 👉 https://lnkd.in/eDJVVENA 

Hot off the press: 📰 OCED’s November Newsletter is out! ⚡ Key Highlights:  🔹 Awarded Projects – OCED committed up to $2.6B to 10 clean energy projects ranging from hydrogen hubs to long duration energy storage  🔹 Pathways to Commercial Liftoff Report – Sustainable Aviation Fuel  🔹 OCED Portfolio Insight – Learning from Case Studies: Financing and Development Approaches from Recent First-of-a-Kind (FOAK) Projects  🔹 Carbon Management Industry Day video recap  🔹 And more!    Find out more about all of November’s announcements, events and awarded projects. Read our 20th issue: https://lnkd.in/dfmn_KGw 

This week, OCED announced awards for four projects in eleven states, committing up to $755 million of federal funding. 🙌 ▪️Kraft Heinz plans to upgrade and decarbonize its process heat at up to 11 facilities by applying a range of technologies like heat pumps, electric heaters, and electric boilers in combination with energy efficient and renewable technologies. This project seeks to help a major American brand achieve deep decarbonization and serve as an example for other U.S. food and beverage companies to reduce emissions from process heat while saving money on energy costs.   ▪️AMERICAN Cast Iron Pipe Company plans to electrify its current melt process by replacing a cupola furnace with four induction furnaces, eliminating coke (derived from coal) combustion, and reducing melt process carbon dioxide emissions by an estimated 95% at its Birmingham, AL, facility. The upgrades to electrify the melt process could be replicated throughout the ductile iron pipe industry, and support new industries, including chip and battery manufacturing plants.  ▪ The National Cement Company of California plans to demonstrate a new technique to make carbon-neutral cement by using calcined clay, partially fueling the plant with agricultural byproducts like pistachio shells and capturing the plant’s remaining CO2 emissions. ▪ The Iowa State University Electric Power Research Center plans to build the state’s first utility-scale microgrid in Montezuma, IA. The microgrid will consist of a 2.5 MW solar photovoltaic array and a 1.5 MWh battery energy storage system. The project team expects to boost the rural community’s energy resilience and reliability, while reducing emissions. Learn more about all this week’s awarded projects: https://lnkd.in/eXn-A5q2   Stay up-to-date on all future awards, funding opportunities, news announcements, upcoming events, and more, subscribe to our newsletter today 👉 https://lnkd.in/eDJVVENA