Hydrogen investments will accelerate America’s manufacturing renaissance
March 14, 2025
In 1976, the British statistician George Box wrote the famous line, “All models are wrong, some are useful.” In complement, I would paraphrase, adding “useful and predictive.” Such is the case with hydrogen and its growing potential in the Houston region.
Numerous predictive models indicate that in a few years the Houston region could be equally well known as a global hydrogen energy powerhouse as we are for Rodeo, great food and winning baseball championships.
To help make this prediction a reality, we must urge our region’s federal representatives to protect critical investments in expanding American hydrogen production to fully unlock its potential.
Hydrogen bridges Texas’ traditional energy strengths with the growing market demand for low-carbon solutions that will responsibly bolster American energy production and help reshore manufacturing jobs to the United States.
Currently, 95% of U.S. hydrogen production relies on natural gas. Building on our strengths as the nation’s top natural gas producer, Texas provides an ideal environment for hydrogen technologies to flourish.
In the Baytown/West Chambers County region, energy and manufacturing have always been cornerstones of our vibrant local economy. Both public and private investments in hydrogen are bringing billions of dollars into our communities, including the US Department of Energy’s $1.2 billion HyVelocity Hub.
Hydrogen development is already creating jobs across Texas and, with ongoing investments, will only continue to grow.
ExxonMobil could finalize a plan this year to invest billions of dollars in a world-class hydrogen facility here in Baytown. The HyVelocity Hub, which aims to accelerate clean hydrogen production in Greater Houston and across the Gulf Coast, could generate up to 45,000 jobs in the region. These jobs span a wide spectrum, from skilled labor to advanced research positions, ensuring broad and varied workforce benefits from the growth. Projections indicate that a robust hydrogen industry could support up to 700,000 jobs nationwide by 2030 and over three million by 2050.
Hydrogen could also become a critical fuel source, powering our petrochemical and manufacturing industries along the Gulf Coast. Proximity to a major hydrogen production hub can become a way to both support existing facilities and their workforces, and also bring back major producers of steel, cement and other large-scale manufacturing that has been offshored for far too long.
However, to make those long-term commitments, companies need certainty that the hydrogen supply chain will continue to advance. That is why stable federal investments, like the 45V credits and other frameworks, are so important.
As Texas’ population continues to grow, hydrogen can also be a source of plentiful dispatchable energy to meet the electricity needs of residential and business customers. Texas has the infrastructure to store and deploy hydrogen to generate affordable electricity on our hottest and coldest days so that Texans can have confidence in the grid’s reliability.
Texas’ industrial sector, which accounts for a significant portion of the state’s energy consumption, also stands to benefit immensely from the adoption and integrated use of hydrogen.
By maintaining existing federal funding, Texas’ congressional members can help secure the state’s position as a hub for innovation, bolstering long-term economic resilience.
Maintaining these federal investments is also essential for America’s energy security and global competitiveness. As the world’s largest producer of natural gas and a leading exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG), the U.S., Texas and the Mont Belvieu Hub are well-positioned to lead the charge to meet growing energy demands at home and abroad. Without this support, America risks ceding our leadership to international competitors and losing more jobs overseas.
Texas’ energy story is one of continuous adaptation and stalwart leadership. The growth of the hydrogen industry is the next chapter in this narrative. By championing the hydrogen hub and other critical federal support like the 45V credits, Texas’ congressional delegation can secure a prosperous future for the state’s economy, its workers, and its role on the global stage. As previously noted, some models are useful and predictive. Let’s work to make the prediction of our region becoming a hydrogen industry powerhouse a reality.