The latest episode of the Energy Horizons series on Greenberg Traurig's E2 Energy Law podcast is now live. Host Bill Garner, Global Co-Chair of GT's Energy and Natural Resources Practice, sits down with Tom Brill, an Energy Practice shareholder in GT's San Diego office, to discuss the shifting federal and state policy landscape for the U.S. hydrogen industry.
Their conversation opens with an examination of the Inflation Reduction Act's foundational hydrogen incentives, including the Section 45V Clean Hydrogen Production Tax Credit, as well as the Section 45Q carbon sequestration credit and provisions for direct pay and transferability.
Tom then walks through how the 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill Act altered the playing field, most notably by compressing the construction start deadline for the 45V credit from 2033 to 2028, while leaving the credit itself intact and expanding support for certain carbon sequestration, biofuel, and nuclear projects.
They address the Foreign Entity of Concern (FEOC) rules and their supply chain implications, the funding cuts to select regional hydrogen hubs, and the growing importance of state-level incentives and mandates, including California's Low Carbon Fuel Standard, cap-and-trade programs, and renewable portfolio standards, as counterweights to federal uncertainty.
The episode closes with practical guidance for project developers and investors: move quickly to meet tightened federal deadlines, analyze both federal and state incentive stacks, identify high-value destination markets and end uses, and build projects designed to remain viable even as the policy landscape continues to evolve.