The company will use a DoE grant to scale production at facilities in Texas, Kansas, and Pennsylvania, cutting an estimated 25 million metric tons of CO2 per year and creating approximately 1,000 new U.S. jobs.
MILWAUKEE—Johnson Controls was awarded a $33 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains to help increase domestic production of electric heat pumps by expanding three U.S.-based manufacturing sites, the company said in a release.
The three facilities, combined, will be able to produce approximately 200,000 electric heat pumps per year, representing a nearly 200 percent production increase. This substantial volume will help drive energy affordability and energy security, while helping combat climate change and creating new jobs, the company said.
“We are thrilled to participate in this program and help drive the enormous impact it will have on energy security, reliability, and affordability while achieving unprecedented progress in slashing carbon,” said Katie McGinty, vice president and chief sustainability and external relations officer for Johnson Controls, in a statement. “We also are excited to create 1,000 new family-sustaining jobs—a great boost for the communities we call home.”
The grant is part of the first award from DOE’s authorization by the Biden Administration to use the Defense Production Act (DPA) to increase domestic production of five key clean energy technologies, including heat pumps. The Johnson Controls project expands production of its York product line at its plants in San Antonio, Texas; Wichita, Kansas; and Waynesboro, Pennsylvania. Within these communities, Johnson Controls is partnering with local unions, economic development groups, and community colleges to expand internship, apprenticeship, and long-term full time job opportunities.
Johnson Controls estimates that upon completion, the initiative will save 1.63 million metric tons of CO2 emissions from residential heating and 25 million metric tons from commercial and industrial heating per year. Those savings are equivalent to greenhouse gas emissions from more than 5.5 million gasoline-powered vehicles driven for one year, the company said.
The investment also will highlight the versatility of heat pump applications, which, in North America, have historically been concentrated in the residential sector.
“As we move toward achieving nation-wide reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, it is critical that our commercial, institutional, and industrial sectors have the technologies necessary for effective decarbonization,” McGinty added. “Some of our heat pumps will help homeowners cut their energy bills, while others can play a major role in commercial industries. For example, we already are working with large scale institutions on heat pump deployments that will cut emissions by more than 70 percent and costs by more than 60 percent.”
According to Johnson Controls, its heat pump customers are achieving excellent results and making immense progress toward their sustainability goals, not just for carbon emissions, but also in reducing water use. Johnson Controls’ heat pumps use electricity to efficiently move heat, rather than burn fuel. This makes heat pumps, which transfer three to eight times more working energy than they consume, a critical tool for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and cutting costs, the company said.
Johnson Controls offers a broad range of heat pumps across residential, commercial, and industrial applications, and was recently recognized on Fortune’s 2023 Change the World list for innovative and transformative heat pump technology. The company also offers ongoing workforce development programs across the country that aim to inspire and prepare tomorrow’s talent for high-demand and critical careers in electric heat pump production, installation, and servicing. This includes the company’s largest philanthropic initiative, the Community College Partnership Program. It is investing $15 million in 30 colleges across the United States to support and prepare students from historically underrepresented groups to embark on career paths in sustainable building practices.