Plug Power and 32 Signatories Submit Letter to Biden Administration on Section 45V Clean Hydrogen Production Tax Credit Implementation

July 25, 2023 at 07:00 AM EDT

LATHAM, N.Y., July 25, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Without domestic clean hydrogen, the U.S. will not meet its climate and economic goals. That is why today Plug Power Inc. (NASDAQ: PLUG), a global leader in comprehensive hydrogen solutions for the green hydrogen economy, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and 31 other organizations submitted a letter to Biden Administration officials addressing Section 45V Clean Hydrogen Production Tax Credit (PTC) implementation. Congress created the PTC to spur investments in clean hydrogen, and poorly devised PTC rules could hamper this vital industry and broader U.S. policy goals.

The letter underscores the Clean Hydrogen PTC’s importance in driving energy security, job creation, and decarbonization of the most difficult-to-abate sectors. In addition, the letter cautions the Administration to avoid unworkable and inequitable PTC requirements that could shift clean hydrogen investments overseas and allow other countries to undercut U.S. clean hydrogen manufacturing. Congress’ intent of enacting the PTC and Inflation Reduction Act was to rapidly scale clean hydrogen production in the United States and accelerate the Biden Administration’s greenhouse gas pollution reduction targets.

In addition, Plug has developed a technical and policy impact analysis, “The Road to Clean Hydrogen: Getting the Rules Right,” about PTC implementation.

If overly strict restrictions are placed upon tax credit qualifying rules, the analysis projects a significant negative impact on the development of the green hydrogen industry, including domestic investment reductions of 65 percent by 2032, the loss of over 500,000 jobs over the next seven years, and energy security risks from the failure to develop hydrogen manufacturing and infrastructure.

“The fact is clean domestic hydrogen is essential to meeting America’s climate and economic goals,” said Plug CEO Andy Marsh. “If PTC rules are too restrictive, we risk forgoing hundreds of thousands of jobs, conceding hydrogen leadership overseas, compromising our energy security, and failing to achieve decarbonization goals – especially in hard-to-abate sectors like steel and chemical production.”

“The section 45V hydrogen PTC holds enormous potential to help the Administration meet its ambitious climate targets, but we must get the details right. Plug’s technical analysis demonstrates that stringent restrictions on 45V PTC eligibility could cripple investment in the hydrogen economy and deprive hard-to-abate sectors of adequate and affordable hydrogen supplies. If the Administration pursues a flexible and balanced approach to the implementation of this tax credit, we are confident U.S. businesses will respond with historic levels of investment in hydrogen projects that will power our clean energy future,” said Marty Durbin, President, Global Energy Institute, U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Well-established organizations and companies with decades of experience in clean energy implementation signed the letter encouraging the Administration to advance pragmatic, forward-looking guidance for the Section 45V Clean Hydrogen PTC.

“For hydrogen infrastructure developers in support of the future fuel of domestic long-haul transportation, the onerous requirements of additional renewable energy resources for hydrogen production, hourly time matching and deliverability in an already constrained interconnection environment, which exists across the country, will stymie the establishment of the clean hydrogen industry,” added Salim Rahemtulla, President and CEO of PowerTap Hydrogen Fueling Corp.

“We believe a pragmatic approach to the PTC rules is essential to delivering on the Administration’s vision for combatting the climate crisis and driving job growth here in the U.S.,” added Jill Evanko, CEO and President, Chart Industries, Inc.

"In order to accelerate the shift to a sustainable future, effective collaboration between the public and private sector is mandatory. The IRA and its Section 45V Clean Hydrogen PTC is an important step in encouraging the development of the green hydrogen economy in the U.S. Accelera by Cummins is proud to join with the signers of this letter to urge the Administration to make the credit as easy to access as possible, promoting effective deployment and ensuring American competitiveness in the growing zero-emissions market,“ noted Amy Davis, President, Accelera by Cummins.

About Plug
Plug is building an end-to-end green hydrogen ecosystem, from production, storage and delivery to energy generation, to help its customers meet their business goals and decarbonize the economy. In creating the first commercially viable market for hydrogen fuel cell technology, the company has deployed more than 60,000 fuel cell systems and over 180 fueling stations, more than anyone else in the world, and is the largest buyer of liquid hydrogen. With plans to build and operate a green hydrogen highway across North America and Europe, Plug is operating a state-of-the-art Gigafactory to produce electrolyzers and fuel cells, and is commissioning multiple green hydrogen production plants that will yield 500 tons of liquid green hydrogen daily by year end 2025. Plug will deliver its green hydrogen solutions directly to its customers and through joint venture partners into multiple environments, including material handling, e-mobility, power generation, and industrial applications. For more information, visit www.plugpower.com.

Plug Power Safe Harbor Statement

This communication contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that involve significant risks and uncertainties about Plug Power Inc. (“PLUG”), including but not limited to statements about: Plug’s technical and policy impact analysis predicting that overly strict restrictions placed upon tax credit qualifying rules will have a significant negative impact on the development of the green hydrogen industry, including domestic investment reductions of 65 percent by 2032, the loss of over 500,000 jobs over the next seven years, and energy security risks from the failure to develop hydrogen manufacturing and infrastructure. Mr. Marsh’s statement that If PTC rules are too restrictive, the USA risks forgoing hundreds of thousands of jobs, conceding hydrogen leadership overseas, compromising national energy security, and failing to achieve decarbonization goals – especially in hard-to-abate sectors like steel and chemical production. Marty Durbin’s statement around the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s confidence that if the Administration pursues a flexible and balanced approach to the implementation of this tax credit, U.S. businesses will respond with historic levels of investment in hydrogen projects. Mr. Rahemtulla’s statement that onerous requirements of additional renewable energy resources for hydrogen production, hourly time matching and deliverability in an already constrained interconnection environment, which exists across the country, will stymie the establishment of the clean hydrogen industry. Plug’s plans to be commissioning multiple green hydrogen production plants that will yield 500 tons of liquid green hydrogen daily by year end 2025. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual performance or results to differ materially from those expressed in these statements. For a further description of the risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from those expressed in these forward-looking statements, as well as risks relating to the business of PLUG in general, see PLUG’s public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), including the “Risk Factors�� section of PLUG’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022 and any subsequent filings with the SEC. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof, and PLUG undertakes no obligation to update such statements as a result of new information.

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