Kraft Heinz to Receive $170m for Clean Energy Projects to Cut Carbon Emissions by 99% at 10 US Plants

Kraft Heinz has been selected for award negotiations to receive up to $170 million from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstration. The investment will support the implementation of clean energy projects at ten of the company's U.S. plants. The goal is to reduce carbon emissions by over 99%.

The investment from the U.S. Department of Energy, titled "Delicious Decarbonization Through Integrated Electrification and Energy Storage," will be implemented at the following Kraft Heinz 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.

Through the program, Kraft Heinz expects to upgrade, electrify and decarbonize its process heat at ten facilities by applying a range of technologies including heat pumps, electric heaters and electric boilers in combination with biogas boilers, solar thermal, solar photovoltaic and thermal energy storage. With the new technologies, Kraft Heinz expects to reduce annual emissions by more than 300,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year.

Additionally, the company predicts overall energy use after implementation of energy efficiency measures, electrification and onsite generation will decline by 23%, natural gas use will decline by 97%, with the remaining 3% being used for standby equipment, and total water use will be reduced by 3%.

By demonstrating integration of multiple decarbonization pathways, the company expects the project will help a major U.S. brand achieve deep decarbonization, serving as an example for other U.S. food and beverage manufacturers.

Marcos Eloi Lima, Chief Procurement and Sustainability Officer at Kraft Heinz, said: "At Kraft Heinz, we’re on a journey to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. This investment will give us critical resources to make necessary improvements in our plants to help increase their energy efficiency and reduce emissions. This investment recognizes our continued efforts to reduce our environmental footprint, and we’re eager to get started."

Helen Davis, Senior Vice President and Head of North America Operations at Kraft Heinz, added: "The infrastructure changes made at these ten plants will allow us to replicate successful technologies and processes across our remaining U.S. plants and globally, making us more efficient as we continue to make upgrades to more locations. I’m proud of the impact this project and award will have on our facilities, but also on our current and future workforce and the communities that surround our operations."

Under the project, Kraft Heinz expects to create an estimated 500 construction jobs across the ten sites. This is the latest in a number of investments from the U.S. Department of Energy. Earlier this week, the department invested $20.9 million in Unilever to reduce carbon emissions at four of its U.S. ice cream factories.