What the battle over green hydrogen means for real estate
The big picture: Steel is an important material for real estate, construction and infrastructure. And the steel industry is also a large producer of carbon. But there’s something that can help decarbonize the production process: Green hydrogen.
Like what you’re reading? Subscribe to Fifth Wall’s newsletter here.
Some experts say that green hydrogen could “more or less replace fossil fuels in many applications and doesn’t release CO2,” Grist reports. In addition to the impact it could have on the production of steel, it could also fuel trucks and cargo ships.
Here’s why all of this matters: Some of the world’s biggest companies are fighting over how to define what types of hydrogen are actually clean because there are tax credits worth billions on the table, according to the Wall Street Journal. There are a few ways to make hydrogen (here’s a quick explainer), including using natural gas which emits carbon in the process.
The bottom line: The Treasury Department is working on finalizing its rules and standards in the next few months. Stricter rules that only allow tax credits for truly clean, green hydrogen will ensure that the U.S. moves closer to its climate goals and the decarbonization of the real estate industry.
“There’s a lot of self-serving behavior being driven by the availability of a really juicy subsidy,” Raffi Garabedian, chief executive of Electric Hydrogen, told the Wall Street Journal. Electric Hydrogen, one of Fifth Wall’s portfolio companies, is focused on making cost competitive fossil-free hydrogen.
For more: Peter Gajdoš, a Fifth Wall partner and co-lead of the Climate Tech Investment team, shares his thoughts on what needs to happen for green hydrogen to succeed.
