Policy and Legal

ANALYSIS: New EPA Regulations Threaten at Least 852,100 Jobs and $162.4 Billion in Economic Activity

Manufacturers in the U.S. Are Leading the Way on Sustainability, Outpacing Global Competitors

By NAM NewsroomMay 10, 2023
Company visit - Adaptive Energy 1. Regarding the Covid response, can you send me a timeline of how face shields and other PPE you guys produced and the details of it all. We want to promote your efforts. Adaptive Energy is a leading manufacturer of solid oxide fuel cells for backup and portable power applications. As a Critical Infrastructure Workerplace due to our fuel cell contracts with the government, we remained open during the pandemic and pivoted to making PPE through an online storefront that we launched specifically for this effort. We leveraged our existing global supply chain relationships to source isolation gowns and raw materials to manufacture our own PPE, allowing us to keep costs low. This work helped us keep our team of 30 fully employed. Starting in March 2020 until March 2021, we manufactured, distributed or donated more than 50 million pieces of PPE. 2. Can you explain what Adaptive Energy does and the basic process of how the products work and what their applications are? Adaptive Energy is a leading designer and manufacturer of low-watt power solutions for harsh environments. Our highly durable Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFC) run on propane and provide low-carbon backup, offgrid or portable power even in the toughest conditions. Based in Ann Arbor, our products are the result of $80M invested in R&D since the company was founded in 1999, using technology developed at the University of Michigan. Fun fact if you want to highlight the Michigan angle: Since December 2018 the company has been owned by two UMich alums and former classmates, Ranvir Gujral (Chairman of the Board) and Mike Edison (CEO). More than 1,200 of our SOFC power systems have been deployed around the world and are used by the military as well as commercial markets including telecom, oil/gas pipeline and transportation. For military use only, our Defender Series portable power systems function as range extenders for unmanned aerial vehicles (drones). The D450 was develope

Washington, D.C. –  A new report conducted by Oxford Economics and commissioned by the National Association of Manufacturers warns that the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed air quality regulations for particulate matter (PM2.5) are projected to threaten $162.4 billion to $197.4 billion of economic activity and put 852,100 to 973,900 current jobs at risk, both directly from manufacturing and indirectly from supply chain spending. In addition, growth in restricted areas may be constrained, limiting investment and expansion over the coming years. Due to these limited opportunities for expansion or investment, these areas in nonattainment could lose out on an additional $138.4 billion in output and 501,000 jobs through 2027.

Overall, the regulations could make it extraordinarily difficult to create new manufacturing jobs and protect existing manufacturing jobs in areas out of attainment. The regulations could also prevent much needed infrastructure improvements in these areas. This is because compliance with the regulations could require restricting manufacturing operations, resulting in fewer jobs, less investment and higher costs for consumers and families.

“Improving air quality in the U.S. is a top priority for manufacturers, and we’ve worked for years to make progress in delivering some of the cleanest manufacturing processes in the world,” said NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons. “This analysis makes clear these new regulations will weaken our ability to invest in the technology and processes that would continue to reduce emissions—while jeopardizing high-paying manufacturing jobs. We need to let manufacturers do what they do best: innovate and deploy modern technologies to protect the environment, while creating jobs and strengthening the economy.”

Key Findings:

  • The regulations create a total economic exposure of $87.4 billion for manufacturing economic activity, equal to 2.4% of the U.S. manufacturing sector’s gross value added.
  • The number of manufacturing jobs associated with this exposed activity is 311,600, or 1.9% of all U.S. manufacturing employment.
  • Manufacturing in the U.S. exposed to the proposed standard supports between $75 billion and $110 billion in GDP and between 540,500 and 662,300 jobs in the U.S. through supply chain spending.
  • Due to limits on expansion and investment, the proposed rule would put at risk approximately $138.4 billion of gross value added (in 2021 prices) and 501,000 jobs in 2027 in areas of nonattainment.
  • Under the proposed rule, 200 counties could be placed out of attainment.
  • California’s manufacturing sector will be most exposed, followed by Michigan and Illinois.
  • Manufacturing operations in the U.S. are environmentally cleaner than the global average.

Find the latest information on the NAM’s efforts to oppose top-down air regulations, including statements from manufacturing leaders, here.

-NAM-

The National Association of Manufacturers is the largest manufacturing association in the United States, representing small and large manufacturers in every industrial sector and in all 50 states. Manufacturing employs nearly 13 million men and women, contributes $2.90 trillion to the U.S. economy annually and accounts for 55% of private-sector research and development. The NAM is the powerful voice of the manufacturing community and the leading advocate for a policy agenda that helps manufacturers compete in the global economy and create jobs across the United States. For more information about the NAM or to follow us on Twitter and Facebook, please visit www.nam.org.