A study from the University of Texas at Austin highlights a significant issue in US blue hydrogen projects. The research found that blue hydrogen production using fossil gas from Texas’s Permian Basin is more than twice as polluting as projects using gas from Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Basin. The Permian-based projects emit 7.4 kg of CO2-equivalent per kg of hydrogen (kgCO2e/kgH2), compared to 3.3 kgCO2e/kgH2 for Marcellus projects. These emissions exceed the 4 kgCO2e/kgH2 threshold for 45V clean hydrogen production tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act. The higher emissions in Texas are due to the venting and flaring associated with crude oil production and extensive gas transportation infrastructure, which increases methane leakage. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas, with up to…