Biden administration reveals hydrogen credit tax plan

The Biden administration released its tax credit proposal for hydrogen producers on Friday, hoping to jumpstart an alternative industry to fossil fuels. The proposal is part of the Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act. It outlines a system of tiers where clean hydrogen producers receive more credit than fossil fuel-based hydrogen producers.

What are some challenges to the plan? There are challenges to cost-effective transportation and delivery of liquid hydrogen to factories and other places where it would be useful, according to energy.gov. Also, most hydrogen produced today is made using natural gas—that’s because producing “clean” hydrogen draws tremendous amounts of electricity. Some people in the industry are concerned the new tax credit plan comes with requirements that are difficult to fulfill. The industry needs time to meet requirements for the top tier of credit, said Frank Wolak, president of the Fuel Cell & Hydrogen Energy Association.

Dig deeper: Read Todd Vician’s report in WORLD Magazine on another recent Biden administration measure that would keep medical debts off Americans’ credit reports.