On August 17, the Energy Futures Initiative’s (EFI’s) Vice President of Research Alex Kizer was quoted in IEEE Spectrum about the significance of recent federal legislation for clean hydrogen development. The Investment Infrastructure and Jobs Act (IIJA) and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) accelerate the clean energy transition by allocating billions of dollars in funding to clean hydrogen.
“The one-two punch of the IIJA hydrogen hubs and the IRA’s production tax credit can help build the full [hydrogen] value chain,” Kizer said.
The IIJA (also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law) dedicates $8 billion to developing clean hydrogen hubs nationwide. The IRA further incentivizes clean hydrogen through a production tax credit (PTC) based on life cycle carbon intensity levels; only projects with emission levels below 4 kg CO2e/kg H2 are eligible for the PTC. The IRA also includes “hydrogen-adjacent funding opportunities” along the value chain that will be vital in forming a clean hydrogen economy, Kizer said.
As EFI research highlights, the hydrogen value chain spans production, transport, storage, and end uses. Manufacturing, fueling, distribution, and other processes are all necessary for hydrogen, Kizer said. Since the IIJA and IRA take different funding approaches, they collectively stimulate “opportunity up and down the hydrogen value chain,” Kizer said.
The passage of the IRA—deemed “the single most significant step” for a clean energy economy by EFI CEO Ernest Moniz—and the IIJA signals that clean hydrogen is gaining traction in the energy transition. EFI’s analytical work also reflects the importance of clean hydrogen; our research has led to recommendations on clean hydrogen hub locations in the Ohio River Valley, Carolinas, and Gulf Coast.
— Jaycee Scanlon, Communications Fellow
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