Climate Policy Engagement Analysis
Climate Policy Engagement Overview: Hy Stor Energy (Hy Stor) engages on US climate policy with mostly positive positions, specifically supporting federal policy relating to the development of hydrogen production and use. The company consistently supports policy to advance clean hydrogen production and infrastructure with stringent regulations that would ensure the growth of hydrogen advances the wider energy transition. At the same time, the company promotes positive top-line messaging on climate change, generally supporting science-based action to address the climate crisis.
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: Hy Stor has consistent, positive top-line messaging on climate policy. A May 2024 letter to the International Organization for Standardization signed by Hy Stor cited IPCC studies on global warming potential, clearly advocating for the centering of climate science in policymaking. In a March 2024 joint letter to US Treasury and White House officials, Hy Stor appeared to support the US’ commitment to achieve net-zero emissions in alignment with its commitments under the Paris Agreement. In an August 2023 post, the company supported action to combat climate change.
Engagement with Climate-Related Policy: Hy Stor Energy appears to have limited engagement with climate-related regulations. In a September 2022 comment submitted to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Hy Stor supported the approval of two major offshore wind projects. In a February 2022 comment to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the company advocated for an expanded definition of renewable biofuels under EPA’s Renewable Fuel Standard Program for 2023-2025, which could enable the use of hydrogen in the standard.
Positioning on Energy Transition: Hy Stor’s engagement surrounding the energy transition is mostly positive, with advocacy limited to the advancement of clean hydrogen production incentives. The company has consistently supported a strict implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act’s hydrogen production tax credit, supporting the Internal Revenue Service’s proposal to require the use of the “three pillars” of additionality, regionality, and hourly time matching in February 2024 comments. Support for these pillars indicates a positive position on the transition of the energy mix, as the ambition of this guidance aims to ensure that the growth of a hydrogen industry does not result in increased GHG emissions. Hy Stor promoted a similarly stringent position in a May 2024 joint letter submitted to the International Organization for Standardization on its hydrogen standard and November 2022 comments submitted on the Department of Energy’s Clean Hydrogen Production Standard. However, Hy Stor also signed a November 2023 joint letter spearheaded by the Green Hydrogen Catapult that appeared to advocate for flexibility in each of the three pillars of the Inflation Reduction Act, a position inconsistent with Hy Stor’s broader advocacy on the policy.
Industry Association Governance: Hy Stor has fully disclosed its industry association memberships, including its membership to the Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Energy Association, the Clean Energy Buyers Association, and the American Clean Power Association. However, the company does not appear to have published an account of its industry associations’ climate-related policy engagement, thus excluding several key instances of climate policy engagement by these associations. For example, the Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Energy Association is highly, negatively engaged on hydrogen-related policy, consistently opposing the “three pillars” of the Inflation Reduction Act’s hydrogen production tax credit. As noted above, Hy Stor consistently promotes the use of the three pillars in its own advocacy.
InfluenceMap collects and assesses evidence of corporate climate policy engagement on a weekly basis, depending on the availability of information from each specific data source (for more information see our methodology). While this analysis flows through to the company’s scores each week, the summary above is updated periodically. This summary was last updated in Q3 2024.