The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has unveiled a $250 million funding opportunity to accelerate the manufacturing of electric heat pumps in the country.
The initiative is part of President Biden’s Investing in America plan. It is also the first funding opportunity to stem from DOE’s new authorization, invoked by the President last year, to use the Defense Production Act (DPA) to increase domestic production of five key clean energy technologies, including electric heat pumps.
The funding will be used to build a clean energy economy, create well-paying manufacturing jobs, and help households save money on their energy bills. The program aims to promote the use of electric heat pumps, which provide a more affordable and reliable option for heating and cooling, resulting in lower energy costs for households and businesses while also creating healthier indoor spaces using clean energy technologies made in the U.S.
According to the DOE, more than 40 percent of all U.S. energy consumption is driven by the heating and cooling of buildings, homes, offices, schools, hospitals, military bases and other critical facilities. Heat pumps are said to be an efficient technology --a claim disputed by some in the HVAC industry-- that transfers heat rather than generating it, providing comfortable temperatures for heating and cooling homes and businesses in all climates, and can also provide more efficient water heating.
As a result, DOE is inviting applic ations from manufacturers interested in creating new facilities or expanding existing production capacity to develop more electric heat pump systems, components, and materials in the U.S. The DOE says it is seeking projects that involve constructing new commercial-scale facilities, expanding existing facilities, retooling or retrofitting existing facilities, and investing in the clean energy manufacturing workforce by providing well-paying, union jobs.
The projects under the funding opportunity may propose using a portion of the funding to develop the workforce needed to meet the facilities’ new or expanded needs.
Interested applicants are required to submit concept papers by May 19, and full applications by August 1, 2023.
Last year, the DOE started a competition among numerous HVAC industry leading firms to come up with a next-gen cold-climate heat pump. Lennox was the first to gain attention for its innovations in the electrification equipment space.
