Kaptur: $61 Million Federal Investment for Two Local ManufacturersPress ReleaseTradeJobs and the EconomyHealth CareEnergy

Toledo, OH - Today, Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (OH-09), Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development and the Department of Energy (DOE) announced major awards of $45.1 Million for Libbey Glass LLC's Toledo Ohio, facility, and $16.246 Million for Kraft Heinz Corporation's Fremont, Ohio Facility. Additional Ohio based awards for production sites out of the area include Cleveland Cliffs for a total award of $575 Million, Owens-Brockway with a total award of $125 Million, and Kraft-Heinz for 9 of its other facilities will receive an additional award of $154 Million.

The projects were announced today by the DOE as part of the Investing in America agenda, with $6 Billion for 33 projects across more than 20 states to decarbonize energy-intensive industries, reduce industrial greenhouse gas emissions, support good-paying union jobs, revitalize industrial communities, and strengthen the nation's manufacturing competitiveness. Funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act, the projects will create and maintain tens of thousands of high-quality jobs and help accelerate the commercial-scale demonstration of emerging industrial decarbonization technologies crucial to meeting America's climate and domestic manufacturing goals.

"The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act are doing as we promised: creating and retaining jobs and moving America forward. Libbey Glass, Kraft Heinz Corp., Owens-Brockway Glass Container Inc., and Cleveland-Cliffs Steel in Ohio will modernize and be on stronger footing to compete because we are investing in domestic production across our NW Ohio region and elsewhere in Ohio," said Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (OH-09), Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development. "These transformational investments in the Industrial Heartland prove that reducing greenhouse gas emissions is good for America's bottom line. This funding will help ensure that our manufacturers are leading and on the cutting edge of the low-carbon economy of the future."

"Spurring on the next generation of decarbonization technologies in key industries like steel, paper, concrete, and glass will keep America the most competitive nation on Earth," said Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. "Thanks to President Biden's industrial strategy, DOE is making the largest investment in industrial decarbonization in the history of the United States. 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."

The projects will focus on the highest emitting industries where decarbonization technologies will have the greatest impact, including aluminum and other metals, cement and concrete, chemicals and refining, iron and steel, and more. Together, the projects are expected to reduce the equivalent of more than 14 million metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions each year - an amount equivalent to the annual emissions of 3 million gasoline-powered cars. Many of the projects will deploy first-in-the-nation emissions-reducing technologies that have the potential for sector-wide adoption and transformation, multiplying the magnitude of the emissions cuts and supporting the future of US manufacturing. Today's announcement is the largest investment in industrial decarbonization in American history, helping to position American manufacturers and workers to lead the global clean energy economy.

This transformative federal investment will help strengthen local economies and create and maintain tens of thousands of good-paying, high-quality jobs-particularly those that support worker organizing and collective bargaining. As part of President Biden's efforts to build an equitable and inclusive clean energy future, each project is also expected to develop and ultimately implement a comprehensive Community Benefits Plan that ensures meaningful community and labor engagement. Nearly 80% of the projects are located in a disadvantaged community, as defined by President Biden's Justice40 Initiative, offering a significant opportunity to invest in good jobs and clean air in communities that have experienced years of divestment.

The industrial sector contributes nearly one-third of the nation's overall greenhouse gas emissions. This transformative federal investment is matched by the selected projects to leverage more than $20 Billion in total to demonstrate commercial-scale decarbonization solutions needed to move the industrial sector toward net-zero emissions. Funded projects will cut carbon emissions by an average of 77%. The industrial sector's unique and complex decarbonization challenges require equally unique and innovative decarbonization solutions that leverage multiple pathways including energy efficiency, electrification, and alternative fuels and feedstocks such as clean hydrogen. The projects announced today are part of the Industrial Demonstrations Program, managed by DOE's Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED), and will help strengthen America's manufacturing and industrial competitiveness. Funding for these projects includes $489 Million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and $5.47 Billion from the Inflation Reduction Act.

Libbey Glass was awarded $45.1 Million, half of the company's total project cost, as part of $6 Billion in funding through the Department of Energy for Industrial Decarbonization Projects. The company will retrofit its Toledo, Ohio plant with new furnace technology to significantly reduce CO2 emissions, add to the sustainability of the plant, and create jobs in Toledo. The project and funding will span from 2024-2029, bringing great opportunities for workforce development in addition to the community health benefits from emissions reductions. The project represents a unique opportunity for the American glass industry. With so many glass companies in the Toledo area and related programs at local universities, the ability to share progress and bring innovation to the community during the project is significant. Replacing four regenerative furnaces with two larger hybrid electric furnaces will reduce an estimated 60% of carbon dioxide emissions associated with the manufacturing of glass tableware products. This will replace up to 80% of the melting energy with renewable-sourced energy. This project will create 268 jobs according to Libbey projections, while reducing criteria air pollutants, including nitrous oxide, sulfur oxide, and particulates, which will improve the air quality surrounding the facility.

"Libbey's glass tableware made in Toledo, OH, such as drinking glasses and stemware, have some of the highest glass product quality standards in the market. This project builds on Libbey's legacy of innovation, and will demonstrate the viability of electrification as an alternative fuel source for the entire glass industry," said James Burmeister, Libbey's Chief Operations Officer, and project sponsor.

Kraft Heinz Corporation was awarded a total of $170.9 Million out of a total project cost of $348.7 Million to upgrade, electrify assets, and completely overhaul the utilities of ten of their highest carbon dioxide emitting plants producing a range of product and processes, using heat pumps, electric heaters, and electric boilers in combination with more ambitious decarbonization technologies such as thermal energy storage. This includes $16.246 Million in funding for Kraft-Heinz Fremont, Ohio Facility. Kraft Heinz will use the funds to install a range of technologies, including heat pumps, electric heaters, electric boilers, anaerobic digestors, biogas boilers, solar thermal, solar photovoltaic, and thermal energy storage. The Company anticipates the project will create an estimated 500 construction jobs across the 10 plant sites, providing opportunities for employees to receive additional training and develop new skills related to the new technologies. The proposed activities will upgrade, electrify, and decarbonize process heat at ten facilities including the Fremont, Ohio facility. It will apply a wide range of technologies including heat pumps, electric heaters, and electric boilers in combination with biogas boilers, solar thermal, solar photovoltaic, and thermal energy storage to demonstrate the integration of multiple decarbonization pathways. This will reduce emissions by more than 300,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year and create an estimated 500 construction jobs across the ten sites.

"At Kraft Heinz, we're on a journey to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050," said Marcos Eloi Lima, Chief Procurement and Sustainability Officer at Kraft Heinz. "This investment will give us critical resources to make necessary improvements in our plants to help increase their energy efficiency and reduce emissions. This investment recognizes our continued efforts to reduce our environmental footprint, and we're eager to get started."

"The infrastructure changes made at these 10 plants will allow us to replicate successful technologies and processes across our remaining U.S. plants and globally, making us more efficient as we continue to make upgrades to more locations," said Helen Davis, SVP and Head of North America Operations at Kraft Heinz. "I'm proud of the impact this project and award will have on our facilities, but also on our current and future workforce and the communities that surround our operations.

Owens-Brockway Glass Container Incorporated will be awarded $125 Million for a $255.6 Million Glass Furnace Decarbonization Technology Stack project. Owens-Brockway plans to implement an innovative furnace technology stack as part of a full retrofit of four furnaces across three of its facilities in California, Ohio, and Virginia, that contributes to an overall reduction of Scope 1 greenhouse gas emissions by an average of 40% at the proposed locations. Part of these funds will be awarded to their Zanesville, Ohio facility. The proposed activities will rebuild four furnaces across three O-I facilities in California, Ohio and Virginia to reduce scope one carbon dioxide emissions. This will combine five cutting-edge technologies on each furnace across different glass colors and container types. The award will support up to 300 construction jobs per project (up to 1,200 across four furnaces), while reducing waste heat and increase electrification, making the furnaces more energy.

Cleveland-Cliffs will be awarded a total of $575 Million across two separate awards. Cleveland-Cliffs will receive $75 Million of a total project cost of $192.7 Million to idle two existing high temperature natural gas fired reheat furnaces and install four new induction reheat furnaces for the high temperature processing of high-silicon grain oriented electrical steel (GOES) in order to decrease Scope 1 greenhouse gas emissions, as well as increase energy efficiency, improve quality, increase facility throughput, and lower operating costs. Additionally Cleveland-Cliffs will also be awarded $500 Million toward a total project cost of $2.727 Billion to work with Midrex and Hatch to design a hydrogen-ready flex-fuel direct reduction (DR) plant in Middleton, Ohio which will replace one of their seven blast furnaces (BF) with a direct reduced iron unit hot charged into two electric smelting furnaces (ESF). The proposed activities will Install a hydrogen-ready, flex-fuel Direct Reduced Iron (DRI) and two electric melting furnaces, and lead to the replacement of one of Cleveland-Cliffs seven operating blast furnaces. This will reduce approximately 1 million metric tons in GHG emissions per year, while creating 1,200 union construction jobs and 170 permanent jobs, while preserving site's 2,500 jobs including 2,000 International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. This will allow for the utilization of iron-ore pellets from Cleveland-Cliffs mines in Michigan and Minnesota, represented by United Steelworkers, while reducing air and water emissions.

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