The Biden administration shared on Monday that it was awarding 20 states about $6 billion in grants to help their greenhouse gas emissions emitted from their metals, chemicals, and other hard-to-decarbonize industries.
The investment into 33 different projects across the country was shared in a press release from the Department of Energy, which highlighted the efforts in several industries, including chemicals and refining, cement and concrete, food and beverage, iron and steel, aluminum and metals, and more.
The release shared that along with helping cut emissions, the funds will also be used to “support good-paying union jobs, revitalize industrial communities, and strengthen the nation’s manufacturing competitiveness.”
The funding comes from Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure law and the Inflation Reduction Act. In total, the department said it expects tens of thousands of jobs to be created, in turn, helping accelerate the commercial-scale demonstration of emerging industrial decarbonization.
Among the industries being targeted are those that account for almost 25% of the United States’ emissions. The Department of Energy shared that the influx in funding will help those industries with the often challenging and expensive shift to lower-carbon technology.
The new plan is also a part of Biden’s goal to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030 and achieve net zero by mid-century.
In total, the projects are expected to reduce the equivalent of more than 14 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions each year. That’s equivalent to the annual emissions of 3 million cars with gas engines.
“These investments will slash emissions from these difficult-to-decarbonize sectors and ensure American businesses and American workers remain at the forefront of the global economy,” Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said in a statement.