PITTSBURGH — The Kraft Heinz Co. is set to receive up to $170 million from the Office of Clean Energy Demonstration within the US Department of Energy to support clean energy projects at 10 of the company’s US plants. The investments will fund part of Kraft Heinz’s electrification and energy storage project, which has set a goal to reduce annual emissions at the 10 plants by more than 99% from 2022 levels, the company said.
“At Kraft Heinz, we’re on a journey to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050,” said Marcos Eloi Lima, chief procurement and sustainability officer at Kraft Heinz. “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.”
Kraft Heinz intends to use the funds to install heat pumps, electric heaters, electric boilers, anaerobic digesters, biogas boilers, solar thermal, solar photovoltaic and thermal energy storage.
“The infrastructure changes made at these 10 plants will allow us to replicate successful technologies and processes across our remaining US plants and globally, making us more efficient as we continue to make upgrades to more locations,” said Helen Davis, senior vice president and head of North America operations at Kraft Heinz. “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.”
The 10 Kraft Heinz plants set to receive funding include: Champaign, Ill.; Kendallville, Ind.; Mason City and Muscatine, Iowa; Holland, Mich.; New Ulm, Minn.; Columbia, Mo.; Lowville, NY; Fremont, Ohio; and Winchester, Va.