By Sherrod Brown

U.S. Senate

The clean hydrogen industry has tremendous potential in Ohio. The Appalachian Clean Hydrogen Hub is anticipated to create more than 21,000 good-paying jobs in the region – including more than 18,000 in construction and more than 3,000 permanent jobs. And it means Ohio workers will play a critical role in building the energy economy of the future.

We fought to create the program making this work possible in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we fought to locate a hub in Ohio, and we fought to create a tax credit to support this clean hydrogen production.

Hydrogen has huge potential as a transportation fuel for long-haul trucking and heavy machinery, and will help reduce pollution from all kinds of heavy industries, like steel, cement, and fertilizer manufacturing.

Our goal is to create jobs, lower energy costs, and unleash innovation in energy production in Appalachia and across the Midwest.

But the guidelines the Administration has proposed for the hydrogen production tax credit undermine all these efforts.

That’s why we’ve been working since last year to push the Administration to overhaul these rules, to make them work for Ohio. We first brought it up back in December when the rules were proposed, and since then, we’ve raised it with the Treasury Department, the Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the White House.

In every meeting, on every phone call, and at every opportunity, we made clear to the Administration that these rules aren’t acceptable.

If they aren’t fixed, they’ll slow down and ultimately undermine our ability to produce clean hydrogen — stifling growth before this industry gets off the ground. The lack of flexibility will cut out Ohio workers and Ohio businesses from creating the energy of the 21st century by hamstringing Ohio and the broader Appalachian region’s ability to produce hydrogen.

We can’t and won’t let this happen. That’s why we are stepping up the pressure. We’ve outlined specific changes the Administration needs to make to get this right.

They need to fix their unworkable timelines and unrealistic models. They need to provide more flexibility, and allow projects using renewable natural gas to produce hydrogen to qualify for the credit.

The Administration needs to make these changes and stop standing in the way of Ohio workers and businesses.