US to spend $6bn to reduce carbon footprint of steel, ice cream and mac and cheese

Funding will go to recipients in more than 20 states in industrial sector, which is responsible for roughly 25% of US emissions

The Biden administration announced a record $6bn in funding Monday to decarbonize US industry facilities including plants that make cement and concrete, iron and steel, and food production plants including ones which make mac and cheese, and ice cream.

The industrial sector is responsible for roughly 25% of all the nation's emissions, and has proven difficult to decarbonize due to its energy-intense, large-scale operations.

Constellium in Ravenswood, West Virginia, is going to operate a first-of-its-kind zero-carbon aluminum casting plant and install low-emission furnaces that can use clean fuels such as hydrogen. The company produces aluminum for a range of products including cars and planes.

Kraft Heinz will install heat pumps, electric heaters and electric boilers to decarbonize food production at 10 facilities, including in Holland, Michigan, where it makes mac and cheese.

Cleveland-Cliffs Steel Corporation in Middletown, Ohio, will retire one blast furnace, install two electric furnaces, and use hydrogen-based ironmaking technology. The project aims to eliminate 1m tons of greenhouse gas emissions each year from the largest supplier of steel to the US automotive industry.

Heidelberg Materials US Inc will build a system that captures and stores carbon underground at its plant in Mitchell, Indiana. The project aims to capture at least 95% of the carbon dioxide released by the cement plant, which will prevent 2m tons of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere each year.

Associated Press contributed to this report