Export-Import Bank of the United States President and Chair Reta Jo Lewis Addresses U.S. Department of Energy’s Global Clean Energy Action Forum in Pittsburgh
WASHINGTON – President and Chair of the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) Reta Jo Lewis concluded a successful visit to Pittsburgh on Friday, where she spoke about EXIM’s ability to support renewable energy, energy storage, and energy efficiency exports at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Global Clean Energy Action Forum and met with key stakeholders.
Chair Lewis participated in a roundtable discussion hosted by the Long Duration Energy Storage Council on the critical topic of “Long-Duration Energy Storage Business on Commercialization & Path to Net Zero,” alongside participants from Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Argonne National Lab, General Electric, and the World Bank. During her remarks, she emphasized EXIM’s commitment to supporting U.S. energy storage exports, and clean energy projects more broadly, and the importance of accelerating the global energy transition using top quality American technology.
Chair Lewis also outlined additional priorities, such as the Make More in America Initiative and the China and Transformational Exports Program, which will help reshore American jobs and reorient supply chains for clean energy technologies like batteries and solar panels while fulfilling the priorities of the Biden-Harris Administration’s climate goals.
In addition to the roundtable, Chair Lewis participated on a U.S. Trade and Development Agency-hosted (USTDA) panel, “Unlocking Capital for Clean Energy Projects Around the World,” alongside USTDA’s Director Enoh Ebong and Lynée Bradley, Citibank’s North America Region Head for Export & Agency Finance. Undersecretary of Commerce for International Trade, Marisa Lago, moderated the panel, during which Chair Lewis outlined the ways EXIM has helped companies access clean energy financing for projects. She also reaffirmed EXIM’s dedication to other agency and Biden-Harris Administration priorities such as expanding U.S. exports to the sub-Saharan Africa region and supporting women in clean tech.
“In all that we do, EXIM supports America’s economic competitiveness and the jobs that will power the energy transition globally,” said Chair Lewis. “EXIM’s China and Transformational Exports Program and Make More in America Initiative are two tools that will help advance those efforts as we reshore clean tech supply chains.”
While in Pittsburgh, Chair Lewis also met with EXIM customers, lenders, and small businesses around the region, including PNC Bank, which is a guaranteed lender supporting small businesses under EXIM’s programs, and Aquatech, a minority-owned small business whose water technologies support climate change adaptation globally.
ABOUT EXIM:
The Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) is the nation’s official export credit agency with the mission of supporting American jobs by facilitating U.S. exports. To advance American competitiveness and assist U.S. businesses as they compete for global sales, EXIM offers financing including export credit insurance, working capital guarantees, loan guarantees, and direct loans. As an independent federal agency, EXIM contributes to U.S. economic growth by supporting tens of thousands of jobs in exporting businesses and their supply chains across the United States. Since 1992, EXIM has generated more than $9 billion for the U.S. Treasury for repayment of U.S. debt. Learn more at www.exim.gov.