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Canary Media’s chart of the week translates crucial data about the clean energy transition into a visual format.
Global investment in efforts to decarbonize heavy industries totaled just $31 billion in 2024, marking a tough year for areas including hydrogen-based steelmaking and carbon capture and storage.
Money for clean industry–related projects fell by nearly 60% last year compared with 2023 — even as investment in the broader energy transition grew to a record $2.1 trillion in 2024, per BloombergNEF.
The diverging outcomes reflect a “two-speed transition” emerging in markets around the world, according to the research firm. The vast majority of today’s energy-transition investment is flowing to more established technologies, such as renewable energy, electric vehicles, energy storage, and power grids.
Meanwhile, efforts to slash planet-warming emissions from heavy industrial sectors — including steel, ammonia, chemicals, and cement — continue to face more fundamental challenges around affordability, maturity, and scalability.
Clean steel projects took the biggest hit in financial commitments, with investment falling to around $17.3 billion in 2024, down from $40.2 billion the previous year, BNEF found.
The category includes new furnaces that can use hydrogen instead of coal to produce iron for steelmaking. Green hydrogen made from renewables remained costly and in scarce supply, leading producers like Europe’s ArcelorMittal to delay making planned investments in hydrogen-based projects. Electric arc furnaces — which turn scrap metal and fresh iron into high-strength steel using electricity — are also considered clean steel projects. Mainland China saw a sharp decline in funding for new electric furnaces as steel demand withered among its automotive and construction industries.
Investment held flat in 2024 for new facilities that use “low-emissions hydrogen” instead of fossil gas to produce ammonia, a compound that’s mainly used in fertilizer but could be turned into fuel for cargo ships and heavy-duty machinery. However, funding declined last year for circular economy projects that recycle plastics, paper, and aluminum, as well as for bio-based plastics production.
BNEF found that, unlike in 2023, few developers of new clean steel and ammonia facilities allocated capital for “co-located” hydrogen plants and renewable energy installations. Likewise, fewer commitments were made to install carbon capture and storage units on polluting facilities like cement factories and chemical refineries.
Whether these investment trends will continue in 2025 depends largely “on a few crucial policy developments in key markets,” Allen Tom Abraham, head of sustainable materials research at BNEF, told Canary Media.
In the United States, companies are awaiting more clarity on the future of federal incentives for industrial decarbonization. The Biden administration previously directed billions of dollars in congressionally mandated funding to support cutting-edge manufacturing technologies and boost demand for low-carbon construction materials — money that is now entangled in President Donald Trump’s federal spending freeze.
Investors are also watching to see what unfolds this month in the European Union. Policymakers are poised to adopt a “clean industrial deal” to help the region’s heavily emitting sectors like steel, cement, and chemicals to slash emissions while remaining competitive. And in China, the government is drafting new rules aimed at easing the country’s overcapacity of steel production, which could impact the deployment of new electric arc furnaces.
“Positive developments on these initiatives could boost clean-industry investment commitments in 2025,” Abraham said.
Since launching in 2019, the U.S. startup Brimstone has positioned itself as a pioneering producer of low-carbon cement. The company’s technology can make the essential material without using any limestone — the carbon-rich rock that, when heated up in fiery kilns, releases huge amounts of planet-warming gases into the air.
Now, Brimstone is looking to use its same process to supply another emissions-intensive industry: aluminum production.
The Oakland, California-based company sources carbon-free rocks that are widely available in the United States but are primarily used today as aggregate for building and road construction. Brimstone pulverizes those rocks and adds chemical agents to leach out valuable minerals. Certain compounds are then heated in a rotary kiln to make industry-standard cement.
Last month, Brimstone announced that its novel approach can also yield alumina, which is the main component of aluminum — the lightweight metal found in everything from household appliances and smartphones to buildings, bridges, and airplanes. Aluminum is also a key ingredient in many clean energy technologies, such as solar panels, heat pumps, power cables, and electric vehicles.
Alumina production today involves extracting and refining a reddish clay ore called bauxite from a handful of countries using environmentally destructive methods. The United States imports nearly all of the alumina it needs to feed its giant, energy-hungry smelters. Over half that supply comes from Brazil, with Australia, Jamaica, and Canada providing most of the rest.
Brimstone says its approach could reduce or supplant the need to scrape bauxite from overseas mines, a process that generates copious amounts of toxic waste. Instead, the company aims to supply U.S. aluminum smelters by sourcing common calcium silicate rocks from domestic quarries and by using chemicals that can be more efficiently recycled than bauxite.
The strategy might also help the six-year-old startup navigate the fraught early period that many newcomers face when trying to break into giant, incumbent industries. Cement is a fairly cheap and abundant material, and the construction sector is inherently wary of deviating from tried-and-true — if carbon-intensive — practices. But the U.S. makes relatively little smelter-grade alumina, despite the essential role it plays in the country’s economy.
“Alumina is a very high-value product that allows us to get into the market…and be very investable in the beginning,” Cody Finke, Brimstone’s co-founder and CEO, told Canary Media. He said that producing alumina could help his team “bridge that valley of death” as it works to scale low-carbon production of cement, which he described as a “larger but lower economic driving force” for the business.
The company, which has raised more than $60 million in venture funding, is slated to open a pilot plant in Oakland later this year that will produce alumina alongside Portland cement — the product that comprises the vast majority of cement made today — and supplementary cementitious materials. Brimstone also plans to build a $378 million commercial demonstration plant by the end of the decade, the site for which is still being decided.
Brimstone is expanding its scope during an especially dynamic period for the aluminum sector.
In recent decades, U.S. aluminum producers have significantly reduced domestic production in response to spiking energy prices and increased competition from China. That in turn has reduced alumina demand from U.S. smelters — which dissolve the alumina in a molten salt called cryolite, then heat and melt it to make aluminum metal. From 2019 to 2023, U.S. alumina imports fell by nearly 33% as manufacturers closed or curtailed their operations.
President Donald Trump has called for imposing fresh tariffs on U.S. aluminum, copper, and steel imports as a way to “bring production back to our country,” and his administration this week imposed or threatened duties on imports from Canada, Mexico, and China, a sweeping action that affects aluminum products. Industry analysts told Reuters that aluminum tariffs would result in higher costs for U.S. consumers, at least until domestic output ramps back up. The country-focused tariffs have already sparked volatility across commodities markets.
At the same time, however, Trump is trying to block federal investments that could boost domestic production of both aluminum and alumina.
Century Aluminum, for example, is set to receive up to $500 million from the U.S. Department of Energy to build the nation’s first new smelter in 45 years. The Biden administration finalized the award on January 15 as part of its larger initiative to slash emissions from industrial manufacturing. Century’s “green smelter” — the location of which hasn’t been announced — will purportedly emit 75% less carbon dioxide than traditional smelters, thanks to its use of carbon-free energy and energy-efficient designs.
The DOE award is currently entangled in Trump’s freeze on tens of billions of dollars in congressionally mandated climate and energy spending. Brimstone is also affected by the pause. In December, the DOE awarded Brimstone up to $189 million to cover half the cost of its planned commercial demonstration plant.
Brimstone declined to comment on the federal funding fracas, which remains in flux even though federal courts have ordered the flow of investment to resume.
Despite the policy uncertainty, there are still potential upsides to making alumina from alternatives to bauxite and within the United States.
Producing alumina using less environmentally intensive techniques — and supplying that material to smelters powered by clean energy — would help lower emissions across the U.S. supply chain and provide much-needed metal for domestic manufacturers. Lessening the country’s reliance on imports could also help insulate the United States from supply chain disruptions and national security risks, according to a 2018 report by the U.S. Department of Commerce.
“Aluminum is a linchpin of domestic aerospace, defense, and automotive applications,” Kevin Kramer, a former executive for U.S. aluminum maker Alcoa who is now a Brimstone senior advisor, said in a statement. “Establishing a new alumina source stateside is vital, and Brimstone’s 100% U.S.-based solution is exactly what the industry needs.”
Three U.S. states — Alabama, Arkansas, and Georgia — mine small amounts of bauxite for chemical and industrial applications. The nation’s single alumina refinery, located in Louisiana, uses imported bauxite to make alumina for aluminum smelting. But most of the world’s alumina production happens in other countries with much larger bauxite deposits.
Other types of minerals and clays also contain alumina, though the modern industry only deals with bauxite. That’s because of “the relatively straightforward nature of extracting bauxite, combined with its commercial abundance,” Adam Merrill, a mineral commodity specialist at the U.S. Geological Survey, said by email. Nearly all commercially produced alumina uses the Bayer process, which involves dissolving bauxite in a high-temperature caustic solution and filtering it to remove impurities.
“Today, the process is used much in the same way as when it was patented in 1888,” he added.
Merrill said that, aside from Brimstone, he isn’t aware of other current research efforts that involve using calcium silicate rocks for alumina production. Earlier studies in the mid-20th century pointed to the fact that silicates contain relatively tiny quantities of alumina — meaning producers would have to dig up substantially more rocks to match what they’d get from bauxite.
Finke said that Brimstone’s answer to this challenge is “co-production,” something he said the industry hasn’t tried before in a meaningful way.
“We’re not just taking the bit of alumina that’s in this and then throwing the rest out,” he said, holding up a small chunk of the silicate rock basalt. “We’re additionally making Portland cement and supplementary cementitious materials. That’s really what our insight was.”
Brimstone plans to mine rocks from existing surface quarries across the United States. At its future commercial demonstration plant, about 20% of its total product will be smelter-grade alumina, with the remaining materials turned into inputs for concrete.
“This would be the first time that alumina is produced from a rock quarry in the United States in a generation,” Finke said of the facility.
OIL & GAS: Colorado regulators consider blocking an oil and gas firm from operating in the state, seizing $317,000 in reclamation bonds and adding its 107 aging wells to the orphaned well program. (Colorado Sun)
CLIMATE: California lawmakers introduce legislation that would allow climate change-related disaster victims and insurance companies to sue fossil fuel companies for damages. (Associated Press)
BATTERIES: California researchers find unusually high concentrations of toxic metals in wetlands downwind of the Moss Landing battery energy storage facility that caught fire recently. (Mercury News)
SOLAR: Wyoming lawmakers advance a bill that would open the door to slashing net metering compensation for rooftop solar after it was changed to exempt existing arrays. (WyoFile)
UTILITIES:
POLITICS:
NUCLEAR:
GRID: Southern New Mexico utility El Paso Electric joins SPP’s day-ahead regional power market. (news release)
COMMENTARY:
HYDROGEN: Backers of a planned hydrogen-powered iron production facility in Minnesota say they are confident that $1.3 million in federal funding just announced for the project will survive the Trump administration’s spending freeze. (Star Tribune)
CLIMATE: The Trump administration’s freeze on federal grants and loans could jeopardize funding for several climate and pollution-reduction projects for northeastern Ohio organizations. (Cleveland.com, subscription)
EFFICIENCY: Twenty-four states lack energy efficiency standards meant to curb energy use, which advocates say come with economic as well as climate advantages, according to a new industry report. (Grist)
OIL & GAS: A state-backed report in North Dakota says higher federal tax incentives for using carbon dioxide for enhanced oil recovery could unlock up to 8 billion more barrels of oil and generate $9 billion in more oil tax revenue over the next decade. (North Dakota Monitor)
EMISSIONS: U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy signs an order seeking to roll back fuel economy standards enacted by President Biden, arguing that “artificially high” fuel efficiency rules raise costs for consumers. (New York Times)
CLEAN ENERGY: Food and beverage production facilities across the U.S. begin to deploy low-carbon heating technologies as an alternative to gas-powered systems, though high costs remain a barrier. (Canary Media)
NUCLEAR: An Indiana utility will seek a $50 million U.S. Department of Energy grant to begin exploring the potential for a small modular reactor at a retiring coal plant. (Inside Indiana Business)
COAL: Springfield, Illinois, reaches an agreement with the U.S. EPA over two coal ash disposal sites that will require improved groundwater monitoring and addressing potential releases of heavy metals. (Environmental Protection)
BIOFUELS: Kansas agriculture and energy companies ask state lawmakers to approve a $5 million annual state tax credit to entice reluctant gas station owners to distribute more ethanol made with crops grown in-state. (Kansas Reflector)
SOLAR:
BIOMASS: Michigan biomass energy advocates say a new state law eliminating biomass as a clean energy source eliminated a market for burning old tires. (MLive, subscription)
COMMENTARY: A former Iowa lawmaker says restrictive local ordinances hinder the state’s ability to remain a renewable energy leader, particularly as new demand comes online from data centers. (Des Moines Register)
EFFICIENCY: A new report finds utilities in Tennessee and other Southeast states have the lowest energy efficiency ranking of any region in the U.S. (Tennessee Lookout)
OIL & GAS: Texas regulators adopt updated oilfield waste rules that now cover drill cuttings, mud that oozes from wells and the wastewater that comes to the surface during fracking. (Inside Climate News)
SOLAR: A 900 MW Texas solar farm uses roughly 3,000 sheep to maintain vegetation at its 4,000-acre site, illustrating a broader trend pairing livestock with solar energy development across the U.S. (Associated Press)
POLITICS:
COAL:
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE:
GRID:
CARBON CAPTURE: The U.S. EPA approves West Virginia’s request for primary enforcement authority for the drilling of injection wells for carbon capture projects. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
EMISSIONS:
COMMENTARY:
POLITICS: On his first day in office, President Trump declares a national energy emergency to give himself broad powers to encourage fossil fuel production to meet growing power demand, though the move could face legal challenges. (The Guardian, The Hill)
ALSO:
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
WIND: Trump orders a stop to new permitting for onshore and offshore wind projects and directs the Interior Department to find out whether it can end or amend existing leases. (E&E News)
OIL & GAS: Trump issues executive orders aimed at spurring more oil & gas drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and revoking policies that “burden the development of domestic energy resources.” (The Hill)
OVERSIGHT: President Trump names a longtime Virginia utility regulator to lead the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. (Cardinal News)
SOLAR:
CLIMATE: A study shows how fossil fuel companies collaboratively used Twitter to seed doubt about international climate action. (Grist)
GRID: Illinois lawmakers and advocates are drafting legislation that would allow merchant transmission line developers to access subsidies under the state’s renewable energy credits program to help remove cost barriers for wind and solar developers. (Energy News Network)
EFFICIENCY: A new report finds utilities in Tennessee and other Southeast states have the lowest energy efficiency ranking of any region in the U.S. (Tennessee Lookout)
CLIMATE: Michigan climate officials say the state is on track to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 26% over 2005 levels by the end of 2025 and is on pace to reach a carbon neutrality goal by 2050. (Michigan Public)
PIPELINES:
NUCLEAR: Officials at a northern Michigan electric cooperative want to buy power from a nuclear plant slated to restart this year, in part to help meet the state’s climate goals a decade ahead of time. (Interlochen Public Radio)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
UTILITIES: Ameren Missouri customers push back on the utility’s proposed 15% rate increase that executives say is needed to pay for various grid infrastructure investments. (St. Louis Public Radio)
SOLAR:
CLEAN ENERGY: Rural Minnesota electric cooperatives receive more than $17 million in federal funding for renewable energy projects and load management through virtual power plants. (KIMT)
PIPELINES: Declining residential demand for propane and escalating costs of a tunnel in the Straits of Mackinac cast doubt on the future of Line 5, according to a new study by an energy economics organization. (Michigan Advance)
ALSO:
RENEWABLES: Two North Dakota utilities receive a combined $1.57 billion to add thousands of megawatts of renewable energy under an Inflation Reduction Act program. (KXNET)
CLIMATE: The future of Des Moines, Iowa’s climate change programs are uncertain after officials eliminated the city’s office of sustainability to help plug a $17 million budget deficit. (KCCI)
NUCLEAR:
SOLAR: The Ohio Supreme Court is weighing the fate of four utility-scale solar projects as the state faces a spike in electricity demand from data centers. (Cleveland.com, subscription)
GRID: American Electric Power will sell a nearly 20% stake in two Midwest transmission subsidiaries for $2.82 billion to fund investments in transmission, distribution and generation projects. (Utility Dive)
EMISSIONS: Efforts to decarbonize large commercial vehicles like semi-trucks and school buses could be in jeopardy under the Trump administration, creating public health risks and derailing climate measures, advocates say. (Inside Climate News)
BIOFUELS: Iowa biofuel advocates say the Biden administration’s failure to finalize sustainable aviation fuels tax credits leaves the guidelines unclear as the Trump administration takes over. (Iowa Capital Dispatch)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
COMMENTARY: Minnesota should lift its moratorium on new nuclear plant construction to help attract large data centers, writes the head of a Minnesota private equity firm. (Star Tribune)
COAL: Despite touting investments in renewable energy, Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway owns 12 of the dirtiest coal plants in the country, including in Nebraska and Iowa, an analysis of federal emissions data finds. (Reuters)
CLEAN ENERGY:
PIPELINES: The Michigan Court of Appeals hears arguments from tribes and environmental groups challenging a state permit allowing Enbridge to build a tunnel for Line 5 in the Straits of Mackinac. (Michigan Advance)
CLIMATE:
SOLAR:
GRID:
POLITICS: Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan concludes 12 hours of testimony over four days in his corruption trial that addressed quid-pro-quo allegations involving jobs with associates at ComEd. (Chicago Sun-Times)
BIOFUELS: Some Iowa biodiesel plants have at least temporarily shut down after the Biden administration failed to finalize guidance on a new tax incentives program. (Des Moines Register)
TRANSPORTATION: California abandons regulations aimed at phasing out diesel trucks and requiring cleaner locomotives, saying the incoming Trump administration is unlikely to issue waivers allowing the rules’ implementation. (CalMatters)
ALSO:
PUBLIC LAND:
NUCLEAR: Wyoming regulators greenlight construction of non-nuclear portions of TerraPower’s proposed advanced reactor facility in the southwestern part of the state. (WyoFile)
CLIMATE:
UTILITIES:
GRID: Federal data show utility equipment has sparked more than 3,600 California wildfires since 1992, but the cause of the deadly Los Angeles blazes remains under investigation. (New York Times)
OIL & GAS: Colorado advocates push back on proposed natural gas and produced water pipelines on federal land in the western part of the state. (Post-Independent)
SOLAR: Washington state officials say a 2017 law aimed at encouraging solar panel recycling has yet to be enforced and has driven some manufacturers from doing business in the state. (Seattle Times)
HYDROGEN: A report finds California lost a net total of three light-duty hydrogen fueling stations last year, casting doubt on the state’s ability to meet targets. (RTO Insider, subscription)
OVERSIGHT: A Utah city considers revising its land-use code to encourage solar, energy storage, natural gas and small modular nuclear reactor development. (Deseret News)
POLITICS: Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte announces a new task force aimed at developing ways to “unleash” energy development and production. (Montana Free Press)
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