WASHINGTON — Today, May 28, as part of President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced the selection of five recipients from across the country for grants to tackle the climate crisis by reclaiming and destroying hydrofluorocarbons, highly potent greenhouse gases commonly used in refrigeration and air conditioning. Collectively, recipients will receive nearly $15 million in HFC Reclaim and Innovative Destruction grants from President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, the largest climate investment in history.
“This diverse set of projects will tackle the destruction and reclamation of HFCs in innovative ways to help protect our climate and bolster American technologies,” said Joe Goffman, Assistant Administrator for the Office of Air and Radiation.
The funding made possible by President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act will range from $1,500,000 to $3,801,100 and support broader Biden-Harris Administration efforts to support a growing American industry on effectively managing HFCs. The selectees for this grant program are The University of Washington, Texas A&M University, Drexel University, University of California-Riverside, and the Air Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Technology Institute. By increasing the reuse of existing HFCs, selected projects are expected to further reduce our economy’s need for new HFCs and reduce overall HFC impacts on our climate.
HFCs are a class of potent greenhouse gases commonly used in refrigeration and air conditioning, aerosols, and foam products. Their climate impact can be hundreds to thousands of times stronger than the same amount of carbon dioxide. Under the bipartisan American Innovation and Manufacturing Act, the Biden-Harris Administration is phasing down HFCs to achieve an 85% reduction below historical levels by 2036. President Biden also signed the U.S. ratification of the Kigali Amendment, and international agreement to phase down these super-polluting HFCs and avoid up to 0.5 °C of global warming by 2100.
With today’s announcement, this Administration is continuing to deliver win-wins for climate action and U.S. manufacturing competitiveness while ensuring that American workers reap the benefits of a growing global market for HFC reclamation and destruction. These projects help facilitate the phasedown of HFCs under the AIM Act by helping increase the amount of HFCs that can be reclaimed and reused in the economy and by developing innovative techniques to destroy unusable HFCs, ensuring they do not contribute to climate change.
EPA anticipates that grants to the selected applicants will be finalized and awarded in the summer of 2024 once all legal and administrative requirements are satisfied, and that selected applicants will begin projects in the fall and winter of this year.
To learn more about the Hydrocarbon Reclaim and Innovative Destruction grants, visit the HFC Reclaim and Innovative Destruction grants webpage.
Selected Grant Applicants
University of Washington
- Seattle, Washington
University of Washington’s project will evaluate and demonstrate via alkaline hydrolysis a novel way to destroy HFCs. The project aims to reduce the pollution emissions associated with HFC destruction since it does not release hydrogen fluoride or gaseous carbon dioxide. UW has an outreach plan to engage with disadvantaged communities and intends to hold workshops, public input meetings, and community consultations and incorporate that feedback into the methodologies of the project.
Texas A&M University
- College Station, Texas
Texas A&M’s project aims to reduce the time and cost of reclaiming HFCs in two ways: 1) by designing and testing a technology capable of separating a range of HFC mixtures and 2) by incorporating a data-driven decision framework for reverse logistics with high supply chain visibility that includes quality, cost efficiency, changing market dynamics, stakeholder collaboration, safety, and environmental regulation. This project intends to achieve a 30% increase in reclaimed HFC and at least a 25% reduction in cost from the baseline operation.
Drexel University
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Drexel University’s project aims to develop a portable and energy efficient HFC destruction device by integrating liquid injection incinerator and nonthermal gliding arc plasma, which will provide refrigerant reclamation companies with an on-site treatment option for the reduction of HFC emissions. The project intends to develop a community engagement plan to evaluate environmental impacts on local communities.
University of California – Riverside
- Riverside, California
University of California – Riverside’s project aims to develop scalable catalytic and assisting technologies for efficient HFC destruction, which would create a competitive and cost-effective integrated destruction system. The project intends to contribute to climate change mitigation and sustainable practices in disadvantaged communities by advancing an innovative and replicable HFC destruction technique through pilot scale demonstration.
Air Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Technology Institute
- Arlington, Virginia
Air Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Technology Institute is developing a pilot project to chemically convert and destroy mixed HFCs back into components for new commercial use. This zero-emission technique would thereby create value from the destruction process, while also lowering the costs and energy required to destroy HFCs compared to conventional incineration methods.