The Department of Energy announced today it would pull back $3.7 billion worth of awards held under the Biden administration for clean energy and manufacturing. Large companies and growing startups have been caught up in the decision.
Energy secretary Chris Wright said the move was “due diligence” on the part of the Trump administration. His statement did not cite any specific reasons for the project being cancelled, but pointed to a memorandum issued on May 15th.
In total, 24 projects will be affected by the move, including projects developed by oil and gas giant ExxonMobil, food manufacturer Kraft Heinz, industrial heat startup Skyben, cement, alumina startup Brimstone and the sublime system of cement startups.
This is a sampling of some of the awards at risk.
American Cast Iron Pipe Company (Metal Manufacturing): $75 million Brimstone Energy (Low Carbon Materials): $189 million Calpine Bay Town Energy Center (Natural Gas Power Plant): $270 million Calpine Sutter Energy Center (Natural Gas Power Plant): $270 million Eastman Chemical Company Longview Plant (Molecular Plastic Resizing) $331.9 million Skyben Technology (Heat Pump Steam Generation): $15.3 million Noble System (Low Carbon Cement): $86.9 million
Sublime told TechCrunch that it was caught off guard.
“We were amazed to receive news about the end of the Industrial Demonstration Program Award, given that Sublime has made clear progress in expanding the technology invented in the US, partnering with the world’s largest cement producers in the West, creating a bankable customer base and a bank’s customer base. The startup is evaluating the options to continue expanding operations.
Brimstone hopes that DOE can solve things.
“I think this is a misunderstanding given the strong alignment of the project with President Trump’s priorities to increase US production of critical minerals. Brimstone rock production represents the only economically viable way to produce important US mineral alumina from US rocks.”
“As the first US-based alumina plant of a generation, our project will also clear the “mines-to-metal” path for US aluminum production, strengthening the US key mineral supply chain and creating thousands of jobs,” she added.