The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded several grants to companies in order to help them improve their energy efficiency.

LyondellBasell, a polyethylene and polypropylene maker, was awarded a $4.5 million grant to improve energy efficiency of its steam crackers, of which it has six in the U.S.  

LyondellBasell will work in cooperation with Quantiam Technologies and BASF to develop new energy saving technology through construction of new generation ethane and naphtha-fed catalytic coating technology for crackers that use ethane or natural gas as feedstock.

Dow Chemical Co. won a $9 million grant award from the DOE to develop a low-cost carbon fiber production process.  The goal is to reduce the cost of carbon fiber materials by 20% and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 50%.

General Motors also received a grant of $2.7 million to develop an integrated die-casting process that is expected to achieve a 50% energy savings for the process used to manufacture automotive doors.

Delphi Automotive received a $3.7 million grant from the DOE to develop a versatile, energy-efficient method for micro-machining complex shapes.  The company said it will utilize ultrafast laser technology to develop the new manufacturing process that will enable enhanced production of flow control holes in its gas direct injection fuel injectors, which are manufactured at its Rochester, N.Y. plant.