(…) Hydrogen, a molecule that has spent decades as a relatively unknown energy resource, is clearly having a renaissance moment. And for good reason. Every scenario in which we reach net-zero emissions by mid-century requires that we use some amount of clean hydrogen technologies to get there.

According to organizations that track the global buildout of hydrogen projects, 680 large-scale hydrogen production projects were announced in 2022 alone, amounting to $240B in direct investment through 2030. And private equity and venture firms invested record amounts in hydrogen companies at different stages of development last year, providing $3.1B in private equity to hydrogen-related companies, and $2.6B in venture capital investment across 192 startups in the space.

(…) Meanwhile, policymakers in the United States have committed an unprecedented amount of public investment to standing up a robust clean hydrogen market in the next decade. Because these decision-makers understood the value of hydrogen in mitigating climate and energy security risks, they acted and prioritized the passage of laws that set us up for a race to the top for the deployment of cost-competitive, clean hydrogen. In fact, I strongly believe affordable, clean hydrogen will be a decarbonization tool we have at our disposal in the next decade, if not sooner.

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