A decade ago, China used industrial policy to dominate manufacturing of solar cells, wiping out Western competitors as worldwide demand for solar panels started to soar. We’re observing the same pattern now with electric vehicle batteries. Clean hydrogen could be next as China already controls most of the supply chain and manufacturing capacity. Conceding first-mover status to China threatens U.S. competitiveness in this key industry of the future.
A thriving hydrogen economy will generate billions in revenue up and down the value chain. Hydrogen investment can generate $140 billion in total revenue and create 700,000 jobs by 20308. This new job market will be inclusive, accessible, and supportive while offering both entry level and higher paying jobs, providing new skills and financial support to millions of Americans.
If deployed at scale, clean hydrogen and its derivatives are expected to account for 20% of global emissions reductions9. Our clean hydrogen plants and those that come after us will play a critical role in those reductions, especially for industries where electrification isn’t possible. Clean hydrogen can create a pathway towards global decarbonization targets in shipping and aviation while providing an alternative to coal and natural gas in steel, cement, and chemical production.
Achieving net-zero emissions requires significant public and private investments in the hydrogen industry to shorten innovation cycles, drive deployment at scale, and reduce costs. Rulemaking right now around the hydrogen production tax credit will determine whether the U.S. can effectively deliver on the IRA’s ambitious goals for clean energy technologies and build the foundation of America’s clean hydrogen industry today and in the future. We believe rules will be needed to ensure hydrogen energy supports clean energy goals, but these should evolve over time. Although hundreds of gigawatts of additional wind and solar capacity are ready to be deployed, permitting challenges and infrastructure barriers mean that renewable generated electricity isn’t coming online fast enough to support the hydrogen that is ready to be deployed today. Proposed restrictions like additionality, deliverability, and temporal matching don't take into account these realities and would make it impossible to achieve U.S. climate goals. We stand at the ready to scale our first-generation clean hydrogen solutions to power America’s path forward today.
The mission of FCHEA is to advance the commercialization of and promote the markets for fuel cells and hydrogen energy. FCHEA is focused on achieving our mission through three primary activities:
FCHEA operates a number of working groups and committees, collaborating with our members on specific initiatives and technologies to help the industry thrive.