Sublime Systems is pausing work on its planned Holyoke, Mass., low-carbon cement plant and cutting its workforce by 10% after the Trump administration canceled an $87 million grant, reported the Greenfield Recorder.
The grant would have funded 50% of the project.
“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,” Sublime Systems said, adding that it is continuing federal talks “to demonstrate how scaling our efficient, next-generation cement technology will onshore manufacturing of a critical building material, reducing our reliance on imports and increasing quality jobs for Americans.”
In late May, U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright rescinded 24 grants totaling $3.7 billion in awards issued by the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations. The money for Sublime Systems was part of $6 billion from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act.
Sublime Systems signed a lease-to-own agreement for a 16-acre former industrial property on Water Street in Holyoke in January 2024. The company is already running a pilot plant in Somerville, Mass., where it is headquartered.
“It has been an immense honor to work alongside our talented team members, the Holyoke community and local policymakers as we developed our demonstration project in a city with a rich industrial legacy, and we recognize the pain and challenges that this shift of direction will cause,” said Sublime Systems.
