U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
U.S. Department of Energy Releases First-Ever Blueprint for a Clean and Competitive Industrial Sector

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), with input from Departments and Agencies across the federal government, today (Nov 18) released "The National Blueprint for a Clean & Competitive Industrial Sector." Building on ongoing industrial investments across Federal agencies, the Blueprint outlines five whole-of-government strategies within a private-sector led and government-enabled framework to fuel continued growth of Amercian manufacturing. This framework is in line with the Biden-Harris Administration's agenda to transform U.S. manufacturing to boost competitiveness, reduce pollution, and create good-paying jobs for American workers.   

"Our manufacturing sector is expanding rapidly under President Biden's leadership, employing millions of Americans while providing essential materials and products that people use every day," said U.S. Deputy Secretary of Energy David M. Turk. "Implementing the strategies outlined in this Blueprint will improve public health, accelerate innovation to support U.S. international competitiveness, and create even more good-paying U.S. jobs." 

The American manufacturing sector is a foundational part of the U.S. economy, contributing 12% to the U.S. Gross Domestic Product annually, catalyzing innovation, directly supporting dozens of other economic sectors, and employing millions of workers. Many manufacturing jobs pay better than average while being accessible to workers without a four-year degree. Robust domestic manufacturing is also important for national security because it reduces our dependence on foreign suppliers and lowers the risk of supply chain shocks. At the same time, the manufacturing sector is energy intensive and accounts for approximately 20 percent of total annual domestic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The Blueprint outlines a national agenda for a private sector-led, government-enabled transformation of U.S. manufacturing, including a suite of new levers and five strategies to guide near-term Federal government coordination: 

1. Accelerate deployment of commercially available, cost-effective lower carbon solutions in the near term; 
2. Demonstrate emerging solutions at commercial scale to de-risk deployment; 
3. Increase data use to drive emissions reductions and efficiency gains that can significantly improve performance and track progress; 
4. Innovate and advance research to develop transformative processes and products for deep GHG emissions reductions; 
5. Integrate across the product life cycle to reduce embodied GHG emissions in industrial products and minimize waste. 

Investments in low-carbon industrial technology are investments in the future of American manufacturing competitiveness, as corporations and governments across the globe race to dominate emerging energy technology solutions. The Blueprint lays out a holistic vision of coordinated federal actions that will support pollution reduction across U.S. industry, while strengthening broadly shared economic prosperity, public health and national security. Learn more about the Blueprint here.