WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Tom Carper (D-Del.), Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, this week led a hearing to explore opportunities for decarbonizing heavy industry, the third largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. economy.
HIGHLIGHTS:
ON THE POTENTIAL OF INDUSTRIAL DECARBONIZATION TO ADVANCE U.S. CLIMATE GOALS AND BOLSTER THE U.S. ECONOMY:
Chairman Carper:
“Heavy industry makes products that are central to our lives, including steel, cement, and aluminum. And, at the same time, the industrial sector is responsible for nearly one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions and represents the third largest source of U.S. emissions — trailing only the transportation and power sectors. By 2030, the industrial sector is expected to become the largest source of domestic greenhouse gas emissions.
“Yet, within these challenges also lies real opportunity. In addition to helping us meet our climate goals, reducing industrial emissions presents great opportunities for us to invest in … American industry in order to boost our nation’s economic competitiveness. The benefits of decarbonizing key industrial materials go beyond simply mitigating emissions at individual facilities. By producing materials in cleaner ways, we can reduce emissions throughout our supply chains, too. And, by investing in the industries that are producing lower carbon materials for our buildings, our roads, and our electric vehicles, we can help support our clean energy transition.”
ON THE PROGRESS BEING MADE THANKS TO THE BIPARTISAN INFRASTRUCTURE LAW AND THE INFLATION REDUCTION ACT:
Chairman Carper:
“We know that federal actions are key to unlocking swift and sharp emission reductions from industry, and that’s why the EPW Committee provided funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act to support near-term actions and transformative technologies to reduce emissions from heavy industry … Would you please describe ways in which the programs enacted under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act are supporting our efforts to decarbonize heavy industry?”
Dr. Abigail Regitsky, Senior Manager, U.S. Policy and Advocacy, Breakthrough Energy:
“There are many programs within the infrastructure law and Inflation Reduction Act that are going to help industry progress on its way to industrial decarbonization … The hydrogen hubs, of course, will be critical to using clean hydrogen to decarbonize industry. Also, very many tax incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act that will be relevant for industry — 48C, an investment tax credit for reducing industrial emissions in existing facilities; 45V for clean hydrogen; 45X, that could be really game-changing for thermal storage … And many more.”
ON THE EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES AND SOLUTIONS BEING DEPLOYED TO DECARBONIZE HEAVY INDUSTRY:
Chairman Carper:
“Many of the transformative technologies that will enable deep decarbonization — such as entirely new ways to produce clean materials — will require time to reach commercial scale … As the 5th National Climate Assessment makes all too clear — just released — we don’t have time to wait for these solutions to come to market as the climate crisis progresses. While those new technologies develop, many tools are already available to make meaningful emissions reductions today … Would you just take a few minutes and share with us some specific examples … of existing methods that can deliver immediate benefits?”
Dr. Abigail Regitsky, Senior Manager, U.S. Policy and Advocacy, Breakthrough Energy:
“There are definitely a host of available technologies that can be used to start reducing emissions now. I’d say at the top of the list is energy efficiency… Any time you’re able to become more energy efficient, you’re saving costs, and so really it’s a win-win. And, with new technologies like smart manufacturing where you can go in and add smart sensors to your different equipment — really monitor the performance of equipment and really optimize that energy usage — is really increasing the opportunity for energy efficiency even more.
“As a final example, in the cement and concrete space, it’s really great to see the innovative technologies — the transformative technologies — like Sublime [Systems] is developing. But, in the near term, there are … materials … that can be used to reduce the cement content within concrete. And, so you’re reducing the emissions of your concrete mix.”
Click here to watch Chairman Carper’s round of questions.
Click here to watch Chairman Carper’s opening statement.
