News

In response to the cancellation of an $87 million federal award, Sublime Systems has been forced to pause construction of a $150 million low-carbon cement factory in Holyoke, MA.

In May, the US Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED) rescinded twenty-four separate grants – together totaling $3.7 billion – impacting numerous recipients. The grant money for the Sublime project had come as part of $6 billion allocation under the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. The project was expected to create hundreds of union construction jobs and 70 full-time jobs once the plant opened in 2027.

Somerville-based Sublime is a startup that aims to decarbonize cement making. Despite the loss in promised funding, the company wanted to move forward with the project, with additional private funding. They eventually determined that to be unfeasible and were forced to pause construction plans and reduce the company’s workforce by 10%.

The pause in construction plans is another example of union jobs that were coming but have now been cancelled.