Paul Rodden • Season: 2024 • Episode: 326
Listen Now:
>Direct Link To The Hydrogen Podcast MP3<
Listen On Your Favorite App:
Welcome to The Hydrogen Podcast!
In episode 326, Plug looks to add the 45v to their quarterly statements and an opinion piece in the Chicago Tribune perfectly states what needs to happen for the US hydrogen economy to take off. I’ll go over this and give my thoughts on today’s hydrogen podcast.
Thank you for listening and I hope you enjoy the podcast. Please feel free to email me at info@thehydrogenpodcast.com with any questions. Also, if you wouldn’t mind subscribing to my podcast using your preferred platform… I would greatly appreciate it.
Respectfully,
Paul Rodden
VISIT THE HYDROGEN PODCAST WEBSITE
https://thehydrogenpodcast.com
CHECK OUT OUR BLOG
https://thehydrogenpodcast.com/blog/
WANT TO SPONSOR THE PODCAST?
Send us an email to: info@thehydrogenpodcast.com
NEW TO HYDROGEN AND NEED A QUICK INTRODUCTION?
Start Here: The 6 Main Colors of Hydrogen
Transcript:
Plug looks to add the 45v to their quarterly statements and an opinion piece in the Chicago Tribune perfectly states what needs to happen for the US hydrogen economy to take off. I’ll go over this and give my thoughts on today’s hydrogen podcast.
So the big questions in the energy industry today are, how is hydrogen the primary driving force behind the evolution of energy. Where is capital being deployed for hydrogen projects globally, and where are the best investment opportunities for early adopters who recognize the importance of hydrogen? I will address the critical issues and give you the information you need to deploy capital. Those are the questions that will unlock the potential of hydrogen, and this podcast will give you the answers. My name is Paul Rodden, and welcome to the hydrogen podcast.
in a press release on June 28 Plug to Receive Federal Clean Hydrogen Production Tax Credit at Georgia Hydrogen Facility. Plug Power, a global leader in comprehensive hydrogen solutions for the green hydrogen economy, which began commercial operation of its electrolytic hydrogen facility in Woodbine, Ga. earlier this year, intends to recognize the benefits of the Inflation Reduction Act’s (IRA) Section 45V Credit for the Production of Clean Hydrogen (PTC) in its forthcoming quarterly financial reports. Plug will be one of the first producers of clean hydrogen in the United States that anticipates utilizing this new incentive enacted by an Act of Congress and signed by President Biden.
The PTC offers a production credit of up to $3.00 per kilogram for clean hydrogen (H2) produced in the U.S., providing a substantial financial incentive for hydrogen production in the U.S, substantially lowering the cost of hydrogen production in the U.S. market. This incentive allows newer, cleaner technologies, such as electrolytic hydrogen, which is produced from water, to be more cost competitive with incumbent fossil fuel technologies. With the passage of the IRA, the U.S. government has made it clear that clean hydrogen is essential to decarbonizing hard-to-abate industries, combat global climate change, improve U.S. energy security, and build a domestic clean energy manufacturing economy.
In the case of Plug’s fuel operations and sales of fuel to its customers, this benefit will provide a meaningful reduction in the Company’s fuel costs. This benefit is one of the key factors that will enable Plug to drive overall fuel margin to a break even run rate by end of the year and positions Plug for growing positive fuel margins in 2025 and beyond. in a quote from Andy Marsh plug, CEO, Government support for clean hydrogen is critical to achieving global mid-century decarbonization goals. By leveraging these incentives, we can scale our hydrogen production capabilities and catalyze industry-wide technological advancements. The use of the PTC will drive innovation and investment in clean hydrogen solutions, which are essential for a sustainable future.
Plug’s 15 ton-per-day (TPD) Georgia facility is the largest electrolytic liquid hydrogen production plant and largest PEM electrolyzer in the U.S. representing a landmark achievement in Plug’s build-out of a vertically integrated hydrogen ecosystem. In addition to its hydrogen plant in Georgia, Plug is expanding its presence with an already existing 10 TPD plant in Tennessee, and a 15 TPD liquid hydrogen facility in Louisiana scheduled to be operational by the end of 2024.
Plug also has a pipeline of future plant developments across the United States and is actively engaged with key strategic suppliers to facilitate the expansion of its green hydrogen network and to achieve cost-effectiveness in green hydrogen production at scale. Plug intends to fully pursue and utilize the transformative Section 45V framework as it continues to develop, construct, and operate hydrogen generation facilities across the U.S.
Okay, so huge news as plug is looking to be one of the first to receive the 45v tax credits by counting the incentives in their upcoming quarterly financial reports. Now we still don’t have a clear indication as to what the Department of the Treasury will deem as clean hydrogen, so I’m curious as to how plug will include the tax credit in their report. But that being said, this shows progress, and I’m not surprised plugs the company driving it forward. Well done. Next. In an opinion piece in the Chicago Tribune, Heather Reams and Rebecca Lorenzen write, hydrogen is key to fighting climate change, but we must get it right. Hydrogen is causing a buzz on Capitol Hill and rightly so. This emerging energy technology has the potential to unlock an abundance of clean energy solutions and reduce energy-related emissions — think American heavy industry — by 10% to 25%.
Hydrogen provides the United States an opportunity to strengthen America’s long-term manufacturing competitiveness and become a global leader by advancing innovative, low-emissions technologies. Many of the opportunities to create well-paying American jobs and build next-generation manufacturing are in red states, which is why our organization, Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions, or CRES, is working to build Republican support for hydrogen initiatives across the country. The bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act established seven regional hydrogen hubs. Using different energy sources, these hubs serve as a prime example of clean hydrogen’s potential, which has multiple applications across several sectors of the economy.
With billions of dollars of federal investments pending in the nascent industry, it is in America’s interest to ensure hydrogen deployment is provided the opportunity to succeed in the market, and that requires policies that accelerate deployment — not policies that increase obstacles to building infrastructure and technologies. Support for hydrogen, including tax incentives, is bipartisan in Congress.
The hydrogen production tax credit should incentivize investment in communities across the country to support a variety of manufacturing sectors that are looking for ways to lower emissions while still meeting energy demand. America is the world leader in emissions reduction because we embrace an all-of-the-above energy approach that values affordability, reliability and environmental stewardship, and hydrogen can play an important role in building on this success. Unfortunately, the proposed implementation of the tax credit by the Department of the Treasury has rightly drawn criticism from industry and lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle. In turn, project development — including the hydrogen hubs — is threatened.
Instead of recognizing the important role all types of homegrown energy play in our attempt to advance a hydrogen economy, the administration elected to propose strict guidance that would ultimately pick winners and losers. For example, the proposed guidance would not provide a pathway for existing hydropower and nuclear energy — two of the largest sources of baseload, zero-emissions electricity generation that can power electrolyzers around the clock. It would also limit hydrogen producers using natural gas paired with carbon capture as a feedstock from accessing the tax credit, discouraging investment in one of our nation’s most abundant resources and among the most affordable ways to produce hydrogen. CRES Forum submitted comments to the administration stating just that.
The White Paper Scaling up a robust and competitive hydrogen industry in the United States will require pulling a variety of policy levers to strike a balance between the right amount of incentives, ensuring the cleanest production possible and allowing developers enough leeway to get their projects off the ground. We need continued investment in research and innovation. The U.S. Department of Energy’s Hydrogen Fuel Cell and Technologies Office, the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations, other crosscutting hydrogen programs and the Loan Programs Office play an important role in ensuring the latest hydrogen technology can grow and scale.
In addition to furthering American innovation, we must articulate an explicit export strategy. While hydrogen would revolutionize energy production and manufacturing at home, it provides the United States an incredible opportunity to become a leading energy exporter to our friends and allies around the world, displacing dirtier sources from geopolitical rivals such as China. We must reduce barriers and provide regulatory certainty.
Instead of the Department of the Treasury’s restrictive approach to the hydrogen tax credit, a flexible, more phased-in adoption would better encourage use of the incentive and increase return on investment for American taxpayers. And finally, we must streamline permitting to put the federal government’s dollars to work, put shovels in the ground on hydrogen projects across the country, and ensure we have an efficient transportation and refueling system for hydrogen once it is produced.
Hydrogen can play a key role in affordably lowering emissions here at home and abroad, and we can’t afford to misstep if we want America manufacturing to be globally dominant in the coming decades. We look forward to continuing our work with federal lawmakers to ensure the United States gets it right. Okay, so a very strong opinion piece on hydrogen development here in the US, and it echoes very well what I continue to say here on the podcast, and what I hear others in the industry say as well.
There are a multitude of technologies available to generate clean hydrogen, leverage them all in the proper applications to drive the hydrogen economy forward. And there are some points made in this opinion piece that I would like to highlight. The first is the idea of becoming a net exporter of hydrogen. I had the honor of moderating a panel discussion at the North America hydrogen Tech Expo last week covering ports as a gateway to driving hydrogen growth.
I was amazed at the current infrastructure’s ability to handle hydrogen and derivatives, and their plans for continuing to build and adapt to allow more hydrogen to flow into the port, and these steps are happening in ports around the world. Also of note in the article is the topic of the department of the Treasury’s three pillars and how it’s strangling the hydrogen economy. Late last week, we saw the doors closed to universal hydrogen. I believe this was a direct result of the delay in 45v tax credits getting formalized. I have had the pleasure of talking with John Gordon, previously, the co founder of universal hydrogen, and what he and UH did for hydrogen aviation.
Is worth applauding. But even with all of their success, they were unable to secure additional funding to move forward with no firm guidance on the 45v credit, the risk associated with hydrogen investment will continue to rise, and so I support what CRES is doing in their efforts to build support in the federal government to push hydrogen initiatives. Let’s get the word out as much as possible that we have a real opportunity to lead the world in clean hydrogen development, but we need their support to see it through.
All right, that’s it for me, everyone. If you have a second, I would really appreciate it. If you could leave a good review on whatever platform it is that you listen to Apple podcasts, Spotify, Google, YouTube, whatever it is, that would be a tremendous help to the show. And as always, if you ever have any feedback, you’re welcome to email me directly at info@thehydrogenpodcast.com. So until next time, keep your eyes up and honor one another.
Hey, this is Paul. I hope you liked this podcast. If you did and want to hear more. I’d appreciate it if you would either subscribe to this channel on YouTube, or connect with your favorite platform through my website at www.thehydrogenpodcast.com. Thanks for listening. I very much appreciate it. Have a great day.
