The US Department of Energy (DoE) announced last week that they would be channelling over $30m in federal funding towards clean energy projects in the country. The sum will be matched by over $35 m from private sector investments.
Under the new funding, 68 projects will receive a financial boost – with each chosen for their apparent potential to accelerate commercialising clean energy technologies in the country. The move sits within President Biden’s aim of reaching net-zero emissions by 2050.
“President Biden is serious about making sure America corners the clean energy market—and that means we need to work with our nation’s savviest entrepreneurs to fast-track solutions from DOE’s National Labs into commercial-ready technologies,” said Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “These projects will help us deploy game-changing innovations that position us to win the clean energy race, while creating jobs and opportunity across every pocket of the country.”
This follows the Department’s $100m worth of funding in February this year – which was announced as the ‘first of billions of dollars of DOE R&D opportunities’ coming up this year.
“Today we are inviting scientists, inventors, entrepreneurs and creative thinkers around America to join us in developing the energy technologies we need to tackle the climate crisis and build a more equitable clean energy economy,” said DOE Chief of Staff Tarak Shah in a press release on the announcement. “The Department of Energy is committed to empowering innovators to develop bold solutions that will help America achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 while creating millions of good-paying jobs that benefit all Americans.”
The Department has also committed to the National Climate Task Force’s Climate Innovation Working Group – established to coordinate federal government-wide adoption of emission-reducing technologies.
The latest round of awards were facilitated by the DoE’s Technology Commercialisation Fund (TCF). The fund has, to date, raised over $170m in funding for more than 380 projects across the country.