Energy Department Announces $38 Million for Decarbonization Initiative

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recently announced $38 million to begin decarbonizing four out of its 17 National Laboratories in support of President Biden’s goal to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions no later than 2050.

DOE’s National Labs are among the federal government’s most complex energy users and have demand and resiliency requirements far exceeding those of a standard facility. Each lab houses heavy industrial facilities, energy-intensive data centers, reactors, and other unique infrastructure that demands large amounts of continuous power. Through the Net-Zero Labs (NZL) Pilot Initiative, DOE is demonstrating that clean energy can power these critical components.

The Net Zero Labs Pilot Initiative will lay the foundation for one of the first-ever models for addressing hard-to-decarbonize industries and is expected to be a foundation of net-zero solutions that can be replicated at facilities across DOE, the federal government, and state and local governments. The four DOE National Laboratories included in this initial pilot are taking proactive steps to harness and produce technology at their facilities to drive down their carbon emissions. Additional funding, available on a competitive basis to all 17 National Laboratories, is expected to be available next year.

Learn more about this initiative here.