Low carbon cement project halted in Holyoke

Progress on a low carbon cement plant in Holyoke skidded to a halt Friday after the company planning the facility failed to reverse a Trump administration decision to cancel an $86 million federal grant.

Sublime Systems said that without the federal funding, which covered half of the project's price tag, it was pausing work in Holyoke and cutting its workforce by 10%.

"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 in a statement, adding that it was 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."

Sen. Edward Markey said the project would have created hundreds of union construction jobs and more than 70 full-time jobs, "all while cornering the market on the next generation of clean cement technology."

Knocking "illegal cuts to federal grant funds that were rightfully awarded following a rigorous review process," Markey said, "Sublime Systems and the City of Holyoke did their part to bring forward a top-tier project. The Trump administration sold them out and betrayed the workers of Massachusetts."

U.S. Energy Secretary Christopher Wright on May 30 announced the termination of 24 awards issued by the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations totaling over $3.7 billion. Most of the awards were made during the last weeks of President Biden's administration.