Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) announced a $156 million funding opportunity that will advance high impact applied research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) projects to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across the U.S. industrial sector. This funding opportunity announcement (FOA), led by EERE's Industrial Efficiency and Decarbonization Office (IEDO), will drive innovation to develop the next-generation technologies required to decarbonize industry, revitalize American manufacturing, create good-paying jobs, and improve community health.

Decarbonizing the industrial sector is critical to achieving the nation's climate goals. In 2020, the industrial sector accounted for 33% of the nation's primary energy use and 30% of energy-related carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions. The industrial sector is also one of the most complex sectors due to the wide diversity of energy inputs, processes, and operations. Achieving net-zero emissions across the U.S. economy by 2050 will require an aggressive, multidimensional approach to eliminating industrial emissions.

Some technologies needed to fully decarbonize the industrial sector are in early stages of development, while others are much closer to commercialization. Rooted in the principles identified in the 2022 Industrial Decarbonization Roadmap, this investment is part of the innovation pipeline that DOE is building to accelerate the development and adoption of industrial decarbonization technologies.

The FOA includes the following subtopic, funded by the Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office (AMMTO):

Topic 3: Exploratory Cross-Sector R&D – This topic will include emerging R&D areas for technologies and materials that enable industrial decarbonization.

• Subtopic 3b: Enhanced Thermal Conductivity Materials – This subtopic will focus on enhanced thermal conductivity materials to improve the performance and efficiency of electrified thermal processing equipment.

This subtopic intends to build upon the work that AMMTO is leading through DOE’s ongoing Conductivity-enhanced materials for Affordable, Breakthrough Leapfrog Electric and thermal applications (CABLE) initiative. CABLE was created to supercharge the American electricity and manufacturing industries by enabling U.S. manufacturers to leapfrog international competition by upgrading the fundamental materials and applications that support grid reliability and other electric and thermal energy systems. This ongoing initiative is comprised of three rounds of Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grants: a multi-stage CABLE manufacturing prize, another R&D funding opportunity announced earlier this year, and today’s funding announcement.

Learn more about this FOA and AMMTO’s subtopic.

Concept papers are due by April 17, 2023, at 5:00pm ET, and full applications are due by June 23, 2023, at 5:00pm ET. EERE envisions awarding multiple financial assistance awards in the form of cooperative agreements. The estimated period of performance for each award will be approximately three years. Updates will be posted on the EERE Exchange website. 

Learn more about AMMTO and its work to advance energy-related materials and manufacturing technologies to increase domestic competitiveness and build a clean, decarbonized economy.