Developing Cleantech Clusters in Southwestern Pennsylvania

This report analyzes how Southwestern Pennsylvania can leverage its industrial legacy in steel and glass, alongside its current strengths in robotics and AI, to develop cleantech clusters. It identifies battery manufacturing, solar component manufacturing, and green buildings as high-potential sectors that could diversify the regional economy and create jobs, provided the region improves coordination and addresses specific workforce gaps.

• Southwestern Pennsylvania is identified as having high potential for economic revitalization through three specific cleantech sectors: battery manufacturing, solar component manufacturing, and green buildings.
• The region is well-positioned for a grid battery manufacturing cluster due to existing industry presence and innovation, such as Eos Energy Enterprises' $300 million Department of Energy loan for zinc-based batteries and SeaLion Energy's battery regeneration technology.
• Southwestern Pennsylvania's history of steel, aluminum, and glass production supports solar component manufacturing, evidenced by Vitro Architectural Glass upgrading its Meadville facility for First Solar and JM Steel producing trackers for NEXTracker since 2022.
• The region can advance green building technologies by utilizing its robotics and manufacturing strengths, supported by entities like Module's Last Mile Facility in Pittsburgh and the state's RISE PA program, which provides $396 million in grants for industrial facility projects.
• To become a cleantech powerhouse, the region needs a dedicated cleantech cluster initiative to improve coordination and attract investment, similar to the Pittsburgh Robotics Network, which helped the robotics sector reach $4.3 billion in investment by 2022.

APA

RMI (2025). Developing Cleantech Clusters in Southwestern Pennsylvania. https://rmi.org/resources/developing-cleantech-clusters-in-southwestern-pennsylvania/

Chicago

RMI. Developing Cleantech Clusters in Southwestern Pennsylvania. 2025. https://rmi.org/resources/developing-cleantech-clusters-in-southwestern-pennsylvania/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=RMI |title=Developing Cleantech Clusters in Southwestern Pennsylvania |date=21 July 2025 |url=https://rmi.org/resources/developing-cleantech-clusters-in-southwestern-pennsylvania/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rmi2025developing, author = {{RMI}}, title = {{Developing Cleantech Clusters in Southwestern Pennsylvania}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2025}, month = jul, url = {https://rmi.org/resources/developing-cleantech-clusters-in-southwestern-pennsylvania/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }