Energy Earthshots: The Frontier of Climate Innovation

The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) held a briefing about the Department of Energy’s Energy Earthshots, which are designed to rapidly break down market barriers and scale up innovation in eight key sectors to address the climate crisis. From enhanced geothermal energy and floating offshore wind to low-carbon industrial heat and affordable home energy, these Earthshots set ambitious goals to tackle the critical energy challenges of our time. 

Panelists from the Department of Energy and its partners shared the latest updates on each Earthshot’s progress. They described tangible work undertaken at the federal level, at national labs, and across the private sector to turn the Earthshot targets into reality. Speakers also explored how the different Earthshots complement each other to advance a just and equitable transition to clean energy.

Highlights

KEY TAKEAWAYS

The eight Department of Energy (DOE) Energy Earthshots are the Carbon Negative Shot, the Clean Fuels and Products Shot, the Enhanced Geothermal Shot, the Floating Offshore Wind Shot, the Hydrogen Shot, the Industrial Heat Shot, the Long Duration Storage Shot, and the Affordable Home Energy Shot. The Earthshots are designed to reduce costs for everyone, especially those who can least afford expensive energy. Meeting the goals of the Energy Earthshots Initiative will require Congressional support; investment in technology, national laboratories, and facilities; deployment of innovative, clean energy technologies; and partnerships with the private sector and entrepreneurs.

 

 Rep. Frank Lucas, U.S. Representative (R-Okla.)

• Advanced geothermal is a clean and renewable energy technology that has the potential to transform the U.S. energy sector.
• The United States leads the world in geothermal power production, but there is still work to be done to develop and grow this industry.
• Oklahoma is proof of the benefits of the geothermal heat pump industry and Department of Energy (DOE) research programs have and will continue to pave the way for the rest of the United States to access this prosperity.
• The bipartisan Energy Act of 2020 (P.L. 116-260) included the Advanced Geothermal Research and Development Act (H.R.5374). This reauthorized funding for DOE to advance research and partnerships on geothermal energy.

 

Rep. Deborah Ross, U.S. Representative (D-N.C.)

• Meeting the goals of the DOE Energy Earthshots Initiative will require Congressional support, investment in research and development, and deployment of innovative, clean energy technologies.
• Since legislation to overturn the 10-year moratorium on offshore wind leasing off the coast of North Carolina and other states in the Southeast was signed into law in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA, P.L. 117-169), North Carolina has set ambitious goals for offshore wind development. The Floating Offshore Wind Shot is a crucial step towards meeting these goals and those set by the Biden-Harris Administration of deploying 30 gigawatts of offshore wind infrastructure by 2030.
• The Floating Offshore Wind Shot seeks to reduce the cost of floating offshore wind power by 70% by 2035, which will drive down energy costs for ratepayers, create thousands of jobs, and establish the United States as a leader in design, development, and manufacturing in a new industry.

 

David Turk, Deputy Secretary, Department of Energy

• President Biden has set a goal to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Achieving this goal requires quickly transitioning to clean electricity, transportation, industry, and more.
• S. emissions decreased in 2023 despite gross domestic product (GDP) rising.
• The International Energy Agency’s Net Zero Roadmap found that remaining below 1.5°C (2.7°F) requires reaching net-zero emissions across 50 sectors and sub-sectors. Currently, only three of the 50 are on pace to reach their net-zero goal by 2050 globally.
• Solar is one of the three sectors or sub-sectors that is on track. It now makes up four percent of U.S. electricity—a significant improvement compared to one decade ago—and is projected to make up seven percent of U.S. electricity within a few years. Electric vehicles are also growing in development and implementation. One in 10 vehicles sold today in the United States is an electric or hybrid vehicle, which is four times higher than in 2020.
• Earthshots are inspired by the DOE’s SunShot Initiative, a collaboration between the federal government, national laboratories, and the private sector to reduce the cost of solar energy by more than 75% in less than a decade.
• Enhanced geothermal energy is one of the eight, bold Earthshots. With new technologies allowing deeper drilling, geothermal energy can be accessed anywhere and can provide a constant source of energy. The goal is to reduce costs of geothermal energy by 90% to just $45 per megawatt hour by 2035.
• The Floating Offshore Wind Shot has an ambitious goal of reducing costs to $45 per megawatt hour by 2035 as well. Floating offshore wind generates more electricity than conventional offshore wind by locating wind turbines farther off the coast where winds are stronger and more consistent.
• Other Earthshots include clean hydrogen, long duration energy storage that can accommodate at least 10 hours of storage, carbon negative technology, and advancing industrial heat technology that reduces emissions by at least 85% compared to current technologies by 2035.
• Earthshots are designed to reduce costs for everyone, especially those who can least afford expensive energy. The Affordable Home Energy Shot is entirely focused on reducing the upfront costs for energy efficiency upgrades, which, in turn, reduce energy costs.
• Reaching these goals requires investment in technology, laboratories, facilities, expertise, and partnerships with the private sector and entrepreneurs. It requires people making career choices to work in this field who will use funding, facilities, and research from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 (IIJA, P.L. 117-58) and IRA to drive the world forward.

 

Q: Where would you like to see the Energy Earthshots Initiative in a year and in five years?

Turk

• Work on the Earthshots needs to be frontloaded. This work needs to start now.
• Any year that goes by that progress is not made on reducing the costs of these technologies is lost time.

 

Q: Could you share progress on the hydrogen Earthshot goal?

Turk

• The hydrogen goal is to get down to $1 per kilogram by 2030 using electrolysis.
• There are a range of tools that can be used to get to this goal. DOE is supporting the development of seven hydrogen hubs across the country. This allows for work to happen at scale.
• DOE has $1 billion to create a demand-side stimulator. This is essential because there must be end users for the energy.
• DOE also has $1.5 billion to work on reducing the cost of electrolyzers.
• The United States now has a national hydrogen strategy and an interagency taskforce to implement the strategy.
• The hydrogen production tax credit is another tool. The guidelines for the tax incentive are in a comment phase.

 

Q: Is the Affordable Housing Earthshot the final Earthshot or will there be more?  

Turk

• The Affordable Housing Earthshot is the final Earthshot.
• These are the key areas the DOE felt needed focused work.

 

Carolyn Snyder, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Buildings and Industry, Department of Energy

• The Industrial Heat Shot was established to develop industrial heat technologies capable of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by at least 85% compared to current technologies within 10 years.
• The U.S. industrial sector is responsible for about one third of U.S. primary energy use and about 30% of energy-related carbon dioxide emissions. It is estimated that more than 60% of the technologies needed to reduce those emissions are not currently market ready.
• Every major industrial sub-sector uses heat, but in different ways and at different temperatures ranging from 300°C (572°F) to over 800°C (1,472°F). This means that industry needs regarding heat are highly individualized.
• DOE has identified three technology pathways to achieve the Industrial Heat Shot: generating heat from clean electricity, integrating heat from low-emission sources, and innovating to create new process technologies.
• In May 2023, DOE launched the seventh U.S. manufacturing institute, with the goal of developing electrified industrial heating processes and supporting related technologies and a skilled workforce, while reducing manufacturing emissions by up to 16 million metric tons in 15 years.
• In June 2023, DOE announced over $37 million in federal funding for more than 10 projects related to decarbonizing thermal processes.
• The Affordable Home Energy Shot is the first Earthshot to focus specifically on underserved communities from the beginning.
• In the United States, more than one in five households are unable to pay their energy bills in full as of 2022. Black, Indigenous, and people of color households are more likely to face high energy burdens, energy insecurity, and adverse health impacts from pollution. For example, recent studies have found that asthma rates among Black children in America are twice the national average. These trends disproportionately impact lower income residents, who more often live in older homes that lack adequate insulation and energy-efficient equipment.
• The nation's 130 million homes and buildings are responsible for consuming 40% of the nation's energy and nearly 75% of its electricity.
• To meet the goals of the Affordable Home Energy Shot and the National Blueprint for the Buildings Sector, there are three core strategies: increase efficiency, accelerate onsite emission reductions, and transform investments in the grid edge in order to reduce the cost to ratepayers. These strategies must be implemented while increasing affordability and addressing resilience, health, and safety challenges in homes and communities.
• Seventy-five percent of today’s homes will still be in use in 2050, so action on affordable home energy cannot focus only on new construction. Millions of buildings per year will need retrofitting to meet these goals.
• The Affordable Home Energy Shot focuses specifically on decarbonizing the 50 million single family, multifamily, and manufactured homes occupied by households earning less than 80% of median income. The goal is to cut the cost of energy-efficient retrofit packages by 50% and lower energy bills for these households by 20% within the next decade through energy-efficient technology, efficient electrification, and grid integration.

 

Nidhi Thakar, Vice President, Policy and Regulatory, Form Energy

• Form Energy is manufacturing a novel 100-hour iron-air battery used for grid-scale storage. A new plant is under construction in West Virginia to scale up manufacturing from the current pilot program to a higher volume. Initially the plant will manufacture 50 megawatts of storage per year, but when the plant is fully built out it will produce up to 500 megawatts of storage per year.
• The electric grid needs to transform to meet modern challenges, including changing weather patterns, a lack of transmission and infrastructure, aging infrastructure, and the energy transition. These challenges need to be addressed in a way that is affordable, cost effective, and ensures grid reliability.
• The Long Duration Storage Shot sets the target of reducing the cost of grid-scale storage by 90% within the decade for systems that deliver 10 or more hours of storage. Long duration storage (LDS) is critical to making renewable energy sources like wind and solar power reliable. Current storage solutions are effective in maintaining steady energy availability in the two- to six-hour range, but they are ineffective on longer timescales, making long duration storage a necessity.
• LDS can contribute to U.S. energy independence and supply chain security through onshoring manufacturing and reducing dependence on fuel imports.
• Most current storage technologies function for under 10 hours, with some commercialized technologies providing 10-12 hours of storage. Multi-day storage is an entirely new technology class, but one seeing increasing interest, particularly in the 36- to 160-hour range. Form Energy’s iron-air battery is one of the furthest along in the process of commercialization in the multi-day class.
• Iron-air batteries function by effectively rusting and unrusting the battery. The basic chemistry of the iron-air battery dates back to the 1970s, when they were considered as an option for powering electric vehicles, but were found to be too heavy for use in transportation. Iron-air batteries are highly cost effective and avoid many of the safety concerns associated with lithium-ion batteries.
• The former location of the Weirton Steel Mill in West Virginia will be the home of the new Form Energy manufacturing facility bringing jobs and resources back to a community deeply impacted by the closure of the mill about 50 years ago. Form is working closely with community partners and is looking to preserve cultural heritage as they develop the new facility.

 

Peter Green, Deputy Laboratory Director for Science and Technology and Chief Research Officer, National Renewable Energy Laboratory

• The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) works with the 17 national labs, academic institutions, and industry in researching and developing the tools needed for the United States to achieve net-zero emissions.
• Earthshots are defined based on economic, financial, and system analyses; they are not trivial goals.
• The Grid Modernization Initiative is a collaboration between national laboratories, industry, and academics looking at ways for consumers to produce their own electricity, such as with rooftop solar and small wind turbines, to better support their needs and make the grid more autonomous.
• The clean energy technologies that will help reach net-zero emissions exist. The Earthshots provide investment for scaling these technologies and making them more affordable. This means optimizing renewable energy, creating long duration energy storage, building energy-efficient homes, and decarbonizing industry and fuels—all at an affordable price.
• The Hydrogen Shot is important because most hydrogen that is currently produced comes from fossil fuels. Hydrogen is necessary for making fertilizers, methanol, metals, and refining petroleum. Using electrolysis makes hydrogen production cleaner, but it is currently costlier. This is a barrier the Hydrogen Shot aims to address. Using offshore wind could supply the electricity needed for electrolysis, making the entire hydrogen-producing system cleaner.
• The consumer costs of wind and solar energy are already comparable to the costs of fossil fuel energy, but wind and solar energy costs will become even cheaper over time. Research on electrolyzers is centered on lowering clean energy capital costs. The IIJA has invested $1 billion into electrolyzers to assist this goal and the IRA has created tax incentives for using clean energy.
• Other emerging innovations are converting biomass into clean fuels and creating chemicals and materials from carbon dioxide captured from industrial air pollution. These issues are addressed by the Clean Fuels and Products Shot.
• The transition from fossil fuels to clean energy does not solely rely on scientific and technological advances, it also needs government investments and smart policies based on scientific studies and analysis. The implementation of clean energy technology requires understanding the needs of communities and collaboratively creating solutions.

 

Q&A

 

Q: What is the advantage of trying to work on eight Earthshots simultaneously?

 Snyder

• The United States faces a complicated set of challenges, so more than one shot was needed. It was important to find shots that could mobilize research, government, and industry to address bold targets in a coordinated way.

Thakar

• Thinking about the eight Earthshots together makes it easier to understand the kind of market that needs to be moved and the goals that need to be implemented for reliable decarbonization. The eight Earthshots together provide a holistic planning tool.

Green

• The Earthshots have helped researchers to understand what the challenge looks like and to bring together many diverse ideas. Without them, there would be less of an understanding of how to reach the 2050 decarbonization goals.

 

Q: What are some additional partners that you are eager to work with on the Earthshots?

Thakar

• When federal agencies continue to research, develop, and invest in new energy technologies, it sets a precedent for the private sector to do the same.
• Support from state regulators, legislatures, and agencies is crucial to adopting new technologies on the consumer and utility scale.

Green

• Collaboration between federal agencies and the private sector is needed in creating alternatives to lithium-ion batteries in the long duration storage space.

Snyder

• When making the clean energy transition, research priorities must be informed by the needs of the people. The Affordable Home Energy Shot is an example of this, where the focus is on pre-existing homes as opposed to new infrastructure.
• State regulators can save their state and its residents money by supporting the transition to renewable energy with new technologies.

 

Q:  What would you like to be able to say about the progress the Earthshots will have made a year from now?

Green

• There is a roadmap for progress on each Earthshot (for example, the Industrial Decarbonization Roadmap), and ideally they would be on track with their roadmap.

Snyder

• Private capital, public capital, and the best minds across the country need to mobilize to achieve the Earthshots with a shared sense of urgency.

Thakar

• In one year or in five years, the cost curves need to be driven down with public sector support in conjunction with private capital and better modeling and metrics so that technologies can be understood and valued correctly.

 

Compiled by Emily Phillips and Meghan Tinnea and edited for clarity and length. This is not a transcript.

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