$250m fund to drive US heat pump production
The US Department of Energy has announced a $250m fund to accelerate heat pump manufacturing in America.
The DOE is extending applications to manufacturers that are interested in creating new facilities or expanding existing production capacity to efficiently develop more electric heat pump systems, components and materials in the United States.
This is the first funding opportunity announcement stemming from DOE’s new authorisation, invoked by President Biden last summer, to utilise the Defense Production Act (DPA) to increase domestic production of five key clean energy technologies, including electric heat pumps.
“Electric heat pumps offer a cheaper, more reliable option for heating and cooling that isn’t prone to dramatic price swings and helps to strengthen the nation’s energy independence,” said US secretary of energy Jennifer M. Granholm.
“President Biden authorised DOE to lead this charge knowing that Americans across the country will feel the benefits — from the manufacturing workers leading development and deployment, to the consumers who will benefits from energy savings.”
Recognising that developing a workforce to support clean energy technologies will be crucial, the projects under the funding opportunity may propose using a portion of funding to develop the workforce needed to meet the facilities new or expanded needs.