Dive Brief:
- Sublime Systems, a low-carbon cement manufacturer, has paused construction of its forthcoming manufacturing plant in Holyoke, Massachusetts, and laid off 10% of its staff, according to a statement from the company sent to Construction Dive.
- The news comes after the Department of Energy canceled the company’s $87 million grant, which Sublime received under former President Joe Biden in March 2024.
- Because of the cancellation, the company experienced trouble with its capital stack, and will thus consider alternative options for the facility, Sublime said. The grant was slated to fund 50% of the plant’s costs.
Dive Insight:
Sublime expected the facility, originally scheduled to open in early 2026, to produce up to 30,000 tons annually of low-carbon cement and create hundreds of jobs during the construction phase of the project, with an additional 70 to 90 ongoing roles once the plant was operational. It was one of 33 projects across more than 20 states earmarked to receive up to $6 billion in funding.
But on Oct. 2, DOE announced it had terminated 321 financial awards for 223 total projects, all in states that voted for former Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 general election, for a claimed savings of more than $7.5 billion. The agency used a review process that determined the canceled projects didn’t meet the economic, national security or energy security standards that would necessitate continued investment.
The funding clawback is yet another example of how the uncertain funding environment has impacted the construction industry. The Trump administration’s moves throughout the year to pull back federal dollars from projects across the construction spectrum, compounded with the recent government shutdown, created strain across the building industry.
Looking forward, Sublime said it remains in conversations with the DOE regarding the potential of low-carbon cement and its use in onshoring and import reduction, per the statement.
“We are actively working through a robust set of alternative scale-up plans and have several exciting options to bring our first commercial plant online,” the company said.
