The author suggests that the battle over restrictions like additionality, which are more idealistic than realistic, could delay efforts to promote hydrogen usage. The author also criticizes the tendency to treat regulations and regulatory uncertainty as cost-free, citing examples where regulations were imposed and then postponed, modified, or rescinded, leading to financial losses for industries.
Key takeaways:
- One of the main pillars of the Energy Transition is the use of hydrogen for specific industries like cement and steel manufacture that require high temperatures.
- Efforts are being made to promote hydrogen usage in localized uses like factories, with the help of tax credits.
- Regulatory uncertainty and changes in regulations can cause economic losses and delay new investments.
- There is a current debate over the tax breaks available for hydrogen producers in the United States, with the argument that power from existing projects used to create hydrogen should not get the tax credits, only power from new projects.