Kraft Heinz has been selected for award negotiations with the US Department of Energy’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstration for up to $170 million.
The funding will be utilized to facilitate the execution of clean energy initiatives at ten of the company’s US facilities, targeting a reduction in carbon emissions by more than 99%.
The funding provided by the US Department of Energy, under the project name ‘Delicious Decarbonization Through Integrated Electrification and Energy Storage,’ will be deployed at Kraft Heinz sites in the following locations: Champaign, Illinois; Columbia, Missouri; Fremont, Ohio; Holland, Michigan; Kendallville, Indiana; Lowville, New York; New Ulm, Minnesota; Muscatine, Iowa; Mason City, Iowa; and Winchester, Virginia.
By implementing a variety of technologies, such as heat pumps, electric heaters, and electric boilers in conjunction with biogas boilers, solar thermal, solar photovoltaic, and thermal energy storage, Kraft Heinz aims to modernise, electrify, and decarbonise its process heat at ten facilities.
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With the implementation of these new technologies, Kraft Heinz anticipates reducing annual carbon dioxide emissions by over 300,000 metric tons.
Furthermore, the business predicts that the implementation of electrification, onsite generation, and energy saving measures would result in a 23% reduction in overall energy use. Total water use is predicted to fall by 3%, while natural gas usage is predicted to decrease by 97%, with the remaining 3% going towards standby equipment.
The company hopes that by demonstrating the integration of several decarbonisation pathways, the initiative would assist “a major US brand” in achieving deep decarbonisation and set an example for other US food and beverage industries.
Chief procurement and sustainability officer Marcos Eloi Lima stated, “At Kraft Heinz, we take sustainability seriously. We’re working towards attaining net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.” “With this investment, we will have the necessary money to update our plants and reduce emissions while increasing energy efficiency. We are happy to begin since this investment recognises our continued efforts to reduce our environmental effect.”
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Helen Davis, Senior Vice President and Head of North America Operations at Kraft Heinz, commented, “The infrastructure enhancements at these ten plants will enable us to scale successful technologies and processes across our other US facilities and internationally, enhancing our efficiency as we expand upgrades to additional locations. I am proud of the positive influence this project and award will have on our facilities, as well as on our current and future workforce and the communities surrounding our operations.”
As part of the project, Kraft Heinz anticipates generating approximately 500 construction jobs across the ten sites.
This marks the latest in a series of investments by the US Department of Energy. Just this week, the department allocated $20.9 million to Unilever to decrease carbon emissions at four of its US ice cream manufacturing facilities.
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