The IRA EV Tax Credits are Working. In a BIG way.

Written By David Kovatch

October -> November 2024

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Despite a rising tide of negative headlines, EV sales are on the rise. There are lots of reasons to explain EV’s growing popularity, but generous IRA incentives are likely a major factor. On October 1 Treasury announced more than $2 billion in point of sale tax credits have been claimed this year for EVs under the IRA's 30D new clean vehicle and 25E previously owned clean vehicle tax credits. 

📈$2 billion over the two tax credits is a staggering amount. That puts them on pace for well over $2.5 billion for the year. Consider that the original CBO estimate for both credits for the entire year was only $547 million. If we only factor in point of sale claims, the clean vehicle tax credits would overshoot the CBO estimate by well over $2 billion this year alone, under the current trends (see the chart below).

🚗 In fact, DC CleanTech projects more than $3 billion claimed across the two credits in 2024. Here’s why: 

Source: DC CleanTech

  1. EV sales are growing and aren’t showing any sign of letting up. Q3 EV sales were up 5% compared to Q2, and 11% year on year. 

  2. Treasury’s data only accounts for point of sale claims. When non-point of sale tax claims are collected (93% of the 30D claims and 88% of 25E claims were filed point of sale), those numbers will increase.

  3. Treasury reported the news on October 1st, so those numbers likely account for only a portion of all Q3 sales. Once the rest of Q3 sales are factored in, the totals will be much higher.

  4. Finally, a big new player is entering the 30D fray -  Hyundai recently announced that its new Georgia EV plant is up and running. Hyundai has consistently been number 2 to Tesla in EV sales over the past several quarters -until GM assumed that position in Q3 2024.

But Hyundai’s vehicles weren’t eligible for the 30D tax credit because they were not manufactured in the United States. That changes as Hyundai EVs roll off the assembly line and onto dealer lots before the end of the year. Hyundai's sprint to invest billions and manufacture in the United States demonstrates the power of the IRA, and the 30D tax credit in particular, to attract foreign direct investment and manufacturing jobs.

🚘25E Previously Owned Clean Vehicle Credit - an Unsung Hero?

Source: DC CleanTech

25E, which provides 30% of the sale price of a used EV up to a maximum credit of $4,000, doesn’t get a lot of shine. It’s usually overshadowed by 30D, which has generated headlines over its critical mineral and battery sourcing requirements, the potential for confusion around its MSRP and income caps, and its prohibition on content from Foreign Entities of Concern (or lack thereof). According to Treasury, of  the more than 300,000 vehicle sales using the upfront credit, more than 250,000 were for tax credits related to new clean vehicles. That leaves ~50,000 sales of used EVs. That may not sound like a lot, but it’s actually a big deal. It means the tax credit is on track for upwards of $260 million of claims assuming the full $4,000 credit is applied to each sale, eclipsing the 2024 CBO estimate of $96 million. And there’s a case to be made that 25E is just getting started. The rapid growth of EV sales (and leases - see the next section), creates a growing market for pre-owned EVs that 25E can be applied to.

🔥45W Commercial Vehicle Tax Credit - Coming in Hot! And let’s not forget that 30D and 25E are just two tools in the IRA's EV demand-support toolbox.

We've still not seen any data from Treasury on the 45W Commercial Clean Vehicle Tax Credit which provides $7,500 for commercial vehicles and most leased vehicles (Quick rant: don’t call it a loophole - the legislation specifically states “vehicles acquired for use OR LEASE by the taxpayer”, and defines commercial property as subject to depreciation. That’s a commercial relationship, plain and simple. The legislators who claim otherwise probably shouldn’t have written it into law and voted for it. End rant.) But we do know EV leases are rising, climbing steadily from over 25% of EV sales in January to 42.7% of new EV sales in July.  Even a conservative estimate that 30% of the 847,287 EVs sold through July, 2024 were leased would amount to nearly $2 billion in 45W leased EV tax credits in the first 7 months of the year alone. That puts the 45W tax credit on pace for more than $3.2 billion in uptake in 2024. That’s more than 18 times greater than the $177 million forecast in the official CBO estimates. There’s no emoji for Joe Manchin’s head exploding, so this will have to suffice: 🤯

Source: DC CleanTech

💰45X - a Game Changer for Incentivizing Manufacturing: But the IRA tax credit party is not limited to consumer-facing tax credits. OEMs and battery makers are feeling lots of love too, and are on track to claim more than $4.5 billion in 45X Advanced Manufacturing Production Tax Credits in 2024.

Source: DC CleanTech

45X provides a $45 per kilowatt-hour production credit for battery packs made in the United States, a $35 per KWh production credit for the battery cells, and a $10 per KWh production credit for the battery modules. Take a Tesla Cyber Truck with a 123 KWh battery, and you’re looking at a $5,535 tax credit. For Every. Single. Battery! Beyond the auto and battery manufacturing sector, 45X also provides production tax credits for applicable critical minerals, solar, wind, and inverter components. 

$4.5 billion in 45X credits for automakers is a colossal number, especially when compared to the  original CBO estimates of $2.5 billion in 2024. And remember, that CBO estimate was for the entire 45X tax credit, not just batteries (hi solar, wind, critical minerals, and inverters! 👋).

We arrived at this number by reviewing major battery manufacturers’ financial statements, most of which clearly indicate anticipated yearly tax credit revenues and/or previous quarterly 45X revenues, which could be projected forward. In the case of privately-held AESC Envision, we estimated the 45X earnings based on their plant’s production capacity, which is public information. 

Source: DC CleanTech

45X claims are topped by Panasonic which got an early jump on the gigafactory game through its relationship with Tesla. Panasonic expects to claim $1.34 billion in 45X tax credits this year. Korea-headquartered LG Energy Solution is not far behind. It claimed $330 million in Q2 45X credits after ramping production in Q1, and is expected to claim $1.11 billion for the year. LGES is in a joint venture with GM for the Ultium Cells battery technology and GM recently announced its share of the 45X proceeds from that JV will reach $800 million this year.

Tesla did not publish 45X related earnings, but last year Benchmark Mineral Intelligence estimated Tesla and Panasonic’s joint 45X earnings would top $1.8 billion. Tesla’s battery production has ramped this year, as has its energy storage business revenues which are buoyed by 45X earnings, but we conservatively put Tesla down for $500 million in 45X credits this year. 

Even more to come in 2025: Perhaps the bigger story is that many of these facilities came online in 2024 and spent the earlier part of the year ramping into major commercial operations. They’ll produce at higher volumes next year, and as a result, claim significantly higher 45X revenues. And there is also major new capacity currently under construction (we don’t bank on announcements here!) that will ramp in 2025, pushing 45X OEM and battery maker tax credits significantly higher. Conservatively, I see those earnings hitting nearly $8 billion in 2025, and potentially approaching or surpassing $10 billion.   

The generous 45X incentives are driving private investment and job creation in the battery and EV manufacturing sectors. According to the Clean Investment Monitor, investments in battery manufacturing have topped $56 billion since the IRA was signed into law! In Q2 2024, the EV supply chain accounted for $17 billion of the total $19 billion invested across all clean manufacturing sectors. That’s a lot of steel in the ground. That’s a lot of jobs. That’s a scale of investment that will transform and revitalize communities. 

The incredible uptake in 45X tax credits is backed up by what we’re seeing in the tax transfer markets. Remember, manufacturers can sell their 45X tax credits, which is an attractive feature for companies that don’t have a sufficiently sizable tax bill to offset 45X revenues. This month Crux reported that 2024 third quarter IRA tax credit transfer volume may have totaled $7-$7.5 billion, in addition to the $9-11 billion estimated for the first half of the year. 45X transfers accounted for the largest share of transferred credits, with 38% of the market. That pencils out to $2.85 billion in 45X tax credit transfers in Q3 2024 alone! That’s a staggering figure and is a testament to the success of the tax credit - in particular in the battery manufacturing sector. Let me repeat, the original IRA official estimate only budgeted $2.5 billion in 45X tax credits for all of calendar 2024!

🦴Treasury throws a bone to the Critical Minerals Sector: While 45X has been a game-changer for OEMs and the battery industry, its preliminary guidance left miners and processors of the critical minerals needed for the clean energy transition high and dry. That changed this month when Treasury announced its final regulations, clarifying that mining and critical minerals processing could benefit by a more expansive definition of which costs are eligible to be included in the 10% tax credit. That’s welcome news for the domestic critical minerals sector, which is struggling to establish itself in the face of heavily subsidized Chinese imports. Time will tell if the move is sufficient to incentivize new domestic graphite production - so far some investors have been sitting on the sidelines following theTreasury decision to delay a ban on Chinese graphite in 30D eligible vehicles until 2027.  

💰So, let’s recap: $3 billion in likely uptake of New and Used Clean Vehicle Tax credits. $3.2 billion projected in Commercial and Leased Clean Vehicle Tax Credits. More than $4 billion to automakers and battery manufacturers for Advanced Manufacturing Production Tax Credits. That’s well over $10 billion dollars in IRA supply and demand side EV incentives in 2024. We’re on pace for record EV sales this year - likely surpassing more than 1.3 million sales, putting 10% of all new car sales within reach. If the trend in IRA tax incentive uptake continues, it would net out to nearly $7,700 in tax incentives for every 👏single👏EV👏sold👏this👏year. 🤯

Government Financing: October’s Awards

The U.S. Government announced more than $19.25 billion 🤑 in grants, loans, and loan conditional commitments in October. Here’s the comprehensive rundown of the sectors and recipients that were funded.

🚢EPA: $3 billion for 55 projects in Clean Ports Program grants funded by the IRA. Selected applications will fund zero-emission port equipment and infrastructure as well as climate and air quality planning at U.S. ports located in 27 states and territories. Selected projects include:

  • Port of Los Angeles: $411 million for electric cargo handling equipment and drayage trucks, charging infrastructure, solar generation, and battery energy storage systems, and vessel shore power

  • Virginia Port Authority: $380 million for electric cargo handling equipment, charging infrastructure and battery energy storage systems.

  • Port Authority of New York and New Jersey: $344 million for electric cargo handling equipment, drayage trucks, and vessel shore power

  • Port of Oakland: $322 million for electric and hydrogen cargo handling equipment and drayage trucks, charging infrastructure, solar generation, and battery energy storage systems.

  • Port of Willmington: $127 million for electric cargo handling equipment and charging infrastructure

  • Utah Department of Environmental Quality: $110 million Electric drayage trucks, locomotives, cargo handling equipment, charging infrastructure and solar generation

☢️DOE NE: Up to $2.7 billion for contracts for enrichment services to produce high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) fuel needed for advanced reactors. Selected companies are: 

🪨DOE LPO: $2.26 billion closed loan to Lithium Americas to finance lithium processing facilities in Nevada. Once fully operational, the facilities are expected to produce 40,000 tonnes per year of battery grade lithium carbonate.

⚡DOE GDO: $2 billion for 38 Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnership (GRIP) projects across 42 states to enhance grid reliability and expand transmission. Projects receiving funding include:

⚡DOE GDO: $1.5 billion for four transmission projects to improve grid reliability and resilience through the Transmission Facilitation Program:

  • Aroostook Renewable Project: $425 million for a 111-mile transmission line with a capacity of 1,200 MW in Maine. 

  • Cimarron Link: $306 million for a 400-mile high-voltage direct-current (HVDC) transmission line with 1,900 MW of capacity between Texas and Oklahoma. 

  • Southern Spirit: $360 million for a 320-mile HVDC line with 3,000 MW of capacity across Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. 

  • Southline: $352 million for a 108-mile transmission line with 1,000 MW of capacity in New Mexico.

🚗DOE LPO: $1.05 billion conditional commitment for a loan guarantee to EVgo to expand public EV charging infrastructure.

⚡USDA: $1 billion in New ERA grants and loans to six rural electric cooperatives to leverage investments of $6.4 billion for 1.75 gigawatts of clean energy for rural communities:

  • Connexus Energy, serving rural communities in Minnesota and South Dakota,

  • Central Electric Power Cooperative Inc, serving rural communities in South Carolina,

  • Poudre Valley Rural Electric Association Inc., serving rural communities in Colorado,

  • Nebraska Electric Generation, serving rural communities in Nebraska,

  • Rayburn Country Electric Cooperative serving rural communities in Texas, and

  • Yampa Valley Electric Association, serving rural communities in Colorado

☢️DOE NE: Up to $800 million in contracts for six companies to provide deconversion services to support the HALEU supply chain. Selected companies are BWXT, Centrus, Framatome, GE Vernova, Orano and Westinghouse. 

🔋DOE LPO: $670 million loan conditional commitment to Aspen Aerogels to finance the construction of an aerogel blanket manufacturing facility in Georgia. Aerogel thermal barriers are protective layers within EV batteries that improve battery safety and performance. 

🏭DOE FECM: $518 million for 23 projects to develop infrastructure needed for CO2 storage. Selected projects include:

  • Carbon America: $68 million to to assess the viability of previously identified geologic formations in southeast Georgia for safe and permanent storage of CO2.

  • Southern States Energy Board: $51 million to investigate an offshore, commercial large-scale CO2 storage site in Texas state waters. 

  • ASRC Energy Services: $50 million to develop a commercial large-scale CO2 storage hub in Alaska

  • DCC East Project: $48 million to construct a dedicated, commercial, geologic carbon storage facility to store up to 80 million metric tons of CO2 in North Dakota. 

⚡DOE GDO: $473.6 million to 49 states, 5 territories, and 254 tribal nations and the District of Columbia in Grid Resilience State and Tribal Formula Grants to modernize the electric grid.

🏭 DOE MESC: $428 million to 14 projects to advance domestic clean energy manufacturing in 15 US coal communities. Selections include: 

  • Anthro Energy, Inc: $25 million for the domestic production of advanced electrolytes for lithium ion batteries. 

  • CleanFiber Inc.: $10 million for a facility that will produce advanced cellulose insulation from recycled cardboard.

  • TS Conductor Corp.: $28 million to establish US-based manufacturing of High Voltage Direct Current conductors and other advanced conductors. 

  • Furno Materials, Inc: $20 million for a circular low carbon cement facility

  • Hempitechture Inc: $8 million to produce automotive composite materials using hemp fiber. 

  • Infinitum Electric: $34 million for a manufacturing facility for heavy copper, high-power printed circuit board stators.

  • MetOx International: $80 million for a facility to produce high temperature superconducting wire.

  • Moment Energy: $20 million to establish a manufacturing facility to repurpose EV batteries.

  • Mainspring Energy: $87 million to establish a manufacturing facility to produce linear generators 

  • RG Resource Technologies: $5 million for a manufacturing facility to produce solar photovoltaic + thermal capture systems. 

  • Sparkz: $9.8 million to produce battery grade iron phosphate. 

  • Terra CO2 Technology Holdings: $52.6 million for a manufacturin facility for innovative, low-emissions cement replacement. 

  • Urban Mining Industries: $37 million to develop two manufacturing plants to convert recycled glass into a ground glass pozzolan, a replacement for carbon intensive cement.

💨U.S. Development Finance Corporation (DFC): $350 million loan to Enerjisa to finance new wind power in Turkey capable of generating 2.51 terawatt-hours annually.

☀️Commerce: $325 million to Hemlock Semiconductor to produce polysilicon used in solar and semiconductor applications in Michigan. 

🏭U.S. Export-Import Bank (EXIM): $297 million to support a waste heat-to-power project in Iraq to improve reliability, energy efficiency, and reduce emissions. Florida-based Stellar Energy Americas will provide engineering, procurement, construction, and other services in support of the project.  

🛢️DOE LPO: $162 million closed loan guarantee to LongPath Technologies to Deploy Methane Emissions Monitoring Network

🪨DFC: $150 million closed loan to Syrah Resources to expand the Balama natural graphite mine in Mozambique. Graphite from Balama feeds Syrah’s Louisiana facility which produces active anode material needed for EV batteries, and is the only non-Chinese vertically integrated graphite anode provider.  

⚡DOE FEMP: $150 million for 67 energy conservation and clean energy projects at federal facilities across 28 U.S. states and territories and six international locations. 

☀️DOE OCED: $129 million in total federal cost share, $1.9 million in Phase 1 to Savion to convert two former coal mines in West Virginia into utility-scale solar PV facilities capable of generating 250 WM of clean power. 
⚡USDA: $126 million for 654 Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) Renewable and Energy Efficiency Program grants.

⚡EPA: $125 million to upgrade older diesel engines to cleaner and zero-emission solutions under the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act National Grants Program. 

⚡DOE OCED: $111.4 million for 7 projects to advance energy improvements in rural or remote areas: 

  • $45 million in total federal cost share, in $9 million in Phase 1 to National Rural Electric Cooperative Association Research to create a consortium of rural electric coops to deploy microgrids in Arizona, California, Minnesota, MOntana, North Carolina, and Tennessee. 

  • $30 million in total federal cost share, $7.5 million for initial project activities, to West Biofuels to deploy three community-scale bioenergy systems. 

  • $9.7 million in total federal cost share, $400,000 in Phase 1 to the Wisconsin Office of Sustainability and Clean Energy to construct 27 mictrogrid systems in northern Wisconsin. 

  • $9.1 million in total federal cost share, $550,000 in Phase 1 to Arizona State University to deploy a hybrid microgrid on the Hopi Reservation. 

  • $7.2 million in total federal cost share, $65,000 in Phase 1, to the Lake and Peninsula Borough to construct a new run of the river hydroelectric facility in Alaska.

  • $6.1 million in total federal cost share, $275,000 in Phase 1, to United Power for a microgrid project in Colorado

  • $4.3 million to the Alaska Village Electric Cooperative to construct a 500 kW solar PV array, a 540 kWh battery energy storage system, and a microgrid in Alaska. 

⚡USDA: $104 million for 302 REAP grants and loans in 34 states. 
☢️ EXIM: $98 million loan to RoPower Nuclear for pre-project services for a small modular reactor project in Romania, which would use NuScale technology.

🏭DOE OCED: $75 million in total federal cost share, $1.5 million in Phase 1 to BASF to recycle liquid byproducts into syngas, which can be used as a low-carbon feedstock at BASF’s chemical manufacturing site in Texas. 

🏭DOE OCED: $61 million in total federal cost share, $1.1 million in Phase 1, to Roanoke Cement Company to minimize the use of clinker in cement production. 

🏭DOE FECM: $58 million for 11 projects to develop pilot projects and testing facilities to demonstrate and scale carbon dioxide removal technologies that reduce CO2 pollution by removing it directly from the atmosphere. Selected projects include: 

  • Arbor Energy: $7 million to develop an innovative BiCRS facility that can store the inherent carbon in biomass while producing power using a supercritical CO2 power system integrated with a high-pressure gasifier and pure oxygen combustor. 

  • Mote: $7 million for an integrated BiCRS pilot project. 

  • Carba: $7 million to assess permanent CO2 storage as solid carbon.

  • Carbon Lockdown Project Benefit: $4.7 million for a biomass burial project.

  • Eion Corp: $3.9 million for digital monitoring, reporting and verification for enhanced weathering. 

  • Lithos Carbon: $3.9 million for enhanced rock weathering.

🏭DOE OCED: $51 million in total federal cost share, $588,000 in Phase 1 funding, to Kohler to upgrade its Vikrell bath and shower fixture manufacturing facility in Arizona with an electric boiler.

⭐DOE Office of Science: $49 million for research on foundational laboratory fusion. 

🚗DOE EERE: $45 million for 8 projects to implore the economics of recycling EV batteries and components. 

🏭 DOE EERE: $43 million to develop technologies for reducing energy use and greenhouse gas emissions across industrial subsectors. 16 projects were selected for electrification of industrial heat, efficient energy use in industrial systems, and decarbonizing organic wastewater and wet organic waste treatment topic areas. Five projects were selected in partnership with the Electrified Processes for Industry without Carbon (EPIXC) Institute to expedite industrial decarbonization through the electrification of process heat.

⚡EPA: $40 million for subgrants to communities under the Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Grantmaking program. 

🌽USDA: $39 million to 39 U.S. business owners to increase the availability of domestic biofuels in 18 states. 

🔋DOE ARPA-E: $36 million for 13 projects to accelerate development of enabling technologies and solutions for a circular supply chain for EV batteries.

💦DOE EERE: $33 million for 38 projects to advance hydropower and marine energy. These selections include more than $8.6 million for 13 hydropower technical assistance projects through the HydroWIRES Initiative and nearly $25 million for 25 hydropower and marine energy research and development projects at six DOE national laboratories.

🏭DOE FECM: $29 million to 12 R&D projects for 12 research and development projects for converting CO2 into economically valuable products and the development of lower-cost, highly efficient technologies to capture CO2 from industrial sources and power plants. 

⛴️DOT: $25 million for electrification of equipment and charging infrastructure at the Port of Miami. 
⚡DOE CESER: $23 million for eight projects to develop new tools and technologies to improve cyber security in clean energy infrastructure.

🔋DOE OCED/DOD Office of Energy Resilience and Optimization: $19 million to CellCube to demonstrate the reliable operation of a vanadium redox flow battery energy storage system at a remote USMC training center in California. 

⚡EPA: $19 million in grants to help businesses prevent pollution under the pollution prevention (P2) program. 

⚡DOE EERE: $18.6 million for 15 projects that will drive innovation in equitable clean transportation and provide first responders with the tools they need to properly respond to calls involving zero emission vehicles. The funding will expand DOE’S Clean Cities and Communities work to make clean transportation options more available, accessible, and affordable nationwide.

💨DOE EERE and Department of the Interior: $17 million for 14 projects to further support durable and environmentally responsible U.S. offshore wind energy and marine energy deployments.  

⚡EPA: $16 million in pollution prevention grants to 24 recipients. 

💦DOE GDO: $12 million of incentive payments to 39 hydropower projects that add or expand hydroelectric power generating capabilities.

⚡DOE EERE: $10 million to support the energy transition for communities across the United States. 
⚡DFC: $3.1 million technical assistance grant to Weza Power to accelerate its work expanding grid access across Burundi.

⚡USAID: $2.6 million to support critical infrastructure digitalization and resilience in North Macedonia.

Government Financing: October’s Opportunities: 

The U.S. Government announced more than $2 billion in new clean tech funding opportunities in October. Here’s the comprehensive rundown of the funding programs.

☢️DOE-NE: $900 million for Generation III+ Small Modular Reactor development and deployment. Applications are due January 17, 2025. 
⚡USDA: $600 million in competitive grants and guaranteed loans under the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) to help agricultural producers and rural small businesses reduce energy costs and consumption and meet the Nation's critical energy needs. Application deadlines for FY 2025 are December 31, 2024 and March 31, 2025.

⚡DOE OCED: $400 million to spur innovative, community-focused, clean energy solutions for rural and remote communities across the United States. The funding is part of the Energy Improvements in Rural or Remote Areas (ERA) Program. Concept papers are due by February 27, 2025. 

⚡DOE ARPA-E: $50 million for the commercial scale-up of disruptive energy technologies. Application submission deadlines have not been published.

ⒽDOE EERE: $46 million to accelerate the research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) of affordable clean-hydrogen and fuel cell technologies. Concept papers are due November 20, 2024.

⚡DOE Office of Technology Transitions: $36 million in clean energy innovation and commercialization support for national laboratories, plants, and sites. Concept papers are due December 12, 2024. 

🪟DOE ARPA-E: $18 million towards reducing the costs for homes and businesses by cutting down on building energy loss. Projects will develop a new class of insulated glass units to use in next-generation windows that have upward of 3x the thermal performance of the 50-year-old technology widely used today. Concept papers are due November 26, 2024.
⚡DOE EERE: $10 million to three communities in Minnesota, Oregon, and Tennessee to research, model, validate and deploy local clean energy strategies.

⚡DOE GDO: $10 million available to states, tribes, and non-profit organizations to accelerate transmission deployment through the Transmission Acceleration Grants (TAG) Program. Applications are due by January 21, 2025 and an informational webinar will be held on November 13, 2024. 

☀️DOE EERE: $5.4 million for 16 projects through the Small Innovative Projects in Solar (SIPS) program. 

☢️DOE Office of Science: $3.5 million for R&D directed at AI and machine learning applied to nuclear science and technology. 

☀️DOE EERE $2.7 million for the American-Made Promoting Registration of Inverters and Modules with Ecolabel (PRIME) Prize. The competition that supports increased registration of solar photovoltaic (PV) modules and inverters through the EPEAT ecolabel.
💨DOE EERE: $2 million to support U.S. Offshore Wind Workforce Readiness Programs. Full application deadline is December 13, 2024.

⚡DOE Office of State and Community Energy Programs: $2 million to eligible nonprofits for energy efficiency equipment. Applications are due November 12, 2024. 
⚡National Institute of Standards and Technology: SBIR Phase I grant opportunity. Clean tech applications should focus on standards to enable the calibration of industry measurements and reliable calculations of energy output and efficiency. NIST is also interested in  developing sensors to measure temperature and greenhouse gas emissions. Applications are due December 27, 2024

Engage in the Debate

⚡Treasury released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on the IRA’s 25C Energy Efficient Home Improvement tax credit. Comments are due by December 25, 2024. 

Why it matters: As we reported in Issue #2, the Energy Efficient Home Improvement and Residential Clean Energy tax credits have proven extremely popular with homeowners, racking up a combined $8.4 billion in claims in 2023, outpacing the official estimate of $2.3 billion. 

☢️The Department of the Navy released a RFI to industry, seeking to explore concepts for the development of nuclear power facilities aimed at enhancing energy security at seven Navy and Marine Corps installations in the United States. Responses are due on November 7, 2024.

🏭DOE FECM released its Carbon Management Strategy, outlining steps to enable carbon management technologies. DOE is soliciting responses from stakeholders by December 10, 2024. 

🇪🇬USAID has released a RFI on Egypt’s energy sector to inform its evaluation of energy sector reform funding aligned with the Egyptian government’s strategy to produce 42 percent of electricity by renewables by 2035. Comments are due November 3. 

🇨🇳USTR has opened its exclusion process for certain types of machinery used in domestic manufacturing from China 301 tariffs. A list of eligible subheadings is available here. The deadline for submitting exclusion requests is March 31, 2025. 

♻️DOE EERE is soliciting feedback on its plan to increase products and materials circularity

🏭DOE FECM issued a RFI on additional approaches that current and future DOE programs could implement to help direct air capture technology developers address challenges in raising project investment capital and achieving sustained facility operations. Responses are due December 17. 

What We’re Reading (and listening to)

DHS Places first PRC Steel Companies on UFLPA Entity List

Commerce to Tariff Solar Imports from Southeast Asia by as much as 300% 

Who are the Winners from the Latest Solar AD/CVD Ruling

DOE GDO National Transmission Planning Study

Treasury: Phase Four of Implementation of the IRA’s Clean Energy Provisions

U.S. Official: China is Oversupplying Lithium to Eliminate Rivals 

EEI: EV Sales and the Charging Infrastructure Required Through 2035 
US looks to resurrect more nuclear reactors, White House adviser says

An Economic Impact Analysis of Major Clean Energy Projects Announced Through Two Years of the IRA

Impact Study of Arrested IRA Investment 

BATT Coalition proposes tax reforms to spur greater domestic independence

Payne Institute: 2024 State of Critical Minerals Report 

Politico Energy Podcast: Why Experts are Skeptical about Harris’ Critical Minerals Reserve Pitch 

Study reveals vast amount of lithium in Arkansas brines

Bipartisan Leaders from House Energy and Commerce call on GAO to Review the DOE Isotope Program to Reduce Reliance on Russia 

CHIPs ITC Final Rule Provides investment tax credit for solar ingot, wafer in boost for domestic manufacturing 

Concerns about Appalachian Hydrogen Hub as Companies Drop Out 

Jake Sullivan’s Closing Argument on Biden’s Global Economic Agenda

Biden Administration approves massive Rhyolite Ridge Lithium Mine


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