The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced more than $26 million in federal funding over three years for cost-shared development of energy-efficient industrial processes in the steel and other energy-intensive industries.
The industrial sector consumes approximately one-third of the energy
used in the U.S. and accounts for 28% of domestic GHG emissions.
Much of this energy is used in processes that are common across
numerous industries. DOE’s Industrial Technology Program’s (ITP) Energy
Intensive Processes Initiative seeks to reduce carbon emissions and
improve energy efficiency across the most energy-consuming
manufacturing processes by developing and promoting technologies that
can be applied in many industrial settings.
Pending Congressional approval, the $26.6 million provided by the DOE will leverage an additional $15.3 million in cost-share funds provided by the award recipients and their industry partners for the eight awards described below:
Energy Reduction and Advanced Water Removal via Membrane Solvent Extraction Technology for an estimated $5,613,965: 3M Company, in collaboration with Archer Daniels Midland Company, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Karges-Faulconbridge Inc., will fully develop the concept of the membrane solvent-extraction technology for water removal, and verify the technology at a pilot scale for bio-ethanol production to increase energy and water savings. Water removal is the most energy intensive stage in conventional bio-ethanol production.
Research, Development and Field Testing of Thermochemical Recuperation for High Temperature Furnaces for an estimated $4,586,222: American Iron and Steel Institute will team up with Gas Technology Institute, Thermal Transfer Corporation, U.S. Steel, ArcelorMittal, Republic Engineered Products, Steel Manufacturing Association and Ohio Department of Development to develop and test thermochemical recuperators for steel reheating furnaces to increase waste heat recovery and reduce natural gas use. A thermochemical recuperator uses the partial oxidation of a fuel to recover energy from heating processes.
Paired Straight Hearth Furnace – Transformational Ironmaking Process for an estimated $1,515,157: American Iron and Steel Institute, in partnership with McMaster University, U.S. Steel, Bricmont and Harper International, will work to optimize the Paired Straight Hearth (PSH) furnace technology and to establish its scalability potential from the bench-scale stage. The PSH furnace is an alternative to the energy and carbon-intensive blast furnace commonly used to make steel.
Induction Consolidation/Molding of Thermoplastic Composites using Smart Susceptors for an estimated $4,074,422: The Boeing Company will lead a team composed of Ford Motor Company, Vestas, Ajax-TOCCO, Steeplechase, Temper and Cytec to establish the technical and economic viability of induction consolidation of thermoplastic composites to fabricate aerospace, automotive and wind turbine components in an energy efficient manner. Induction consolidation uses the electrical conductivity properties of the thermoplastic materials to soften them and allow them to be formed.
Prototyping Energy Efficient Thermo-magnetic and Induction Hardening for Heat Treat and Net-Shape Forming applications for an estimated $4,365,491: Eaton Corporation will lead a team composed of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, American Magnetics, Ajax-Tocco, Dura-Bar, Ohio State University and North Western University to develop and test a hybrid thermo-magnetic and induction hardening technology to replace conventional heat treatment processes in forging applications. This technology uses the magnetic and electrical conductivity properties of a material to change its surface hardness.
Electrohydraulic Forming of Near-Net Shape Automotive Panels for an estimated $3,702,109: Ford Motor Company will work with a team consisting of U.S. Steel, Troy Tooling, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, and IAP Research to develop and demonstrate this forming technology as an alternative to conventional stamping technology to form automotive panels. Electrohydraulic forming uses intense pressure waves to force the automotive panels into the proper shapes.
Inorganic Membranes for Refinery Gas Separations for an estimated $897,265: Media and Process Technologies, Inc., working with Chevron and the University of Southern California, will develop and performance-test hydrogen selective inorganic membranes for in-situ hydrogen recovery and recycling for improved refinery hydrotreating applications. The membrane to be developed will allow recovery of hydrogen formerly lost from the hydrotreating processes, with significant energy savings.
Ultra-Efficient and Power Dense Electric Motors for the U.S. Industry for an estimated $1,899,618: Reliance Electric Company will collaborate with Colfax Pumps, Howden Fan, DuPont, DOW, Duke Energy, American Electric Power and Emeren Power to develop general-purpose, permanent-magnet electric motors that are more efficient, smaller and lighter than NEMA premium efficient induction motors.
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