Environmental groups urge feds to uphold clean hydrogen tax credit rules amid industry lobbying concerns.

Environmental justice groups have urged the federal government to resist weakening requirements for tax incentives for clean hydrogen produced with clean energy. The U.S. Treasury recently published draft rules stating that for tax credits, the energy used must not be diverted from the grid but be “additional” energy created specifically to power the electrolysis process used to produce pure hydrogen from water. However, environmental advocates are concerned that industry groups are lobbying to weaken these rules. The Midwest Alliance for Clean Hydrogen (MachH2), a coalition of industry and research groups that won up to $1 billion in Department of Energy hydrogen hub funding, has proposed to produce much “pink hydrogen” powered by nuclear energy from Illinois. Critics argue this could divert zero-emissions power from other users and prolong the lives of fossil-fuel-fired generators. The environmental and justice groups praised the draft 45V rules for including “three pillars” that ensure clean hydrogen production is truly clean.