An analysis by the Rhodium Group research company showed that in the United States in 2023, investments in the latest climate technologies, namely green hydrogen, clean jet fuel, and carbon capture, increased 10-fold to $9.1 billion.
This jump was largely facilitated by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), Bloomberg reports.
The article emphasized that the laws sent a signal that these technologies will be key tools that the federal government wants to rely on to achieve US climate goals.
It is noted that almost half of the investments in 2023 occurred in the fourth quarter. This significant jump in funding for advanced technologies reflects the growing interest in next-generation solutions.
"The legislation really turned the tide of growth, really had a catalytic effect," said Rhodium Group energy and climate partner Trevor Houser.
The article said that some technologies that benefit from the support mechanism are both speculative and critical to achieving climate neutrality. Thus, the US Department of Energy allocated $304 million to four projects that will test carbon capture infrastructure. In addition, the IRA created the first significant tax credit for green hydrogen.
Analysts highlighted that these technologies have attracted more funding than wind power, which in 2023 suffered from high interest rates, siting problems and grid connection queues. Interest rates have also had a negative impact on heat pump sales, as they tend to be associated with residential construction.
They said that clean technology now accounts for 5% of US private investment in fixed assets and consumer durables. In 2022, this indicator reached 4%.
"This is a macroeconomically significant factor in aggregate investment activity in the US," Hauser said. – And this is still a large share of investment growth."
Estimates by analysts from BloombergNEF, who use a different methodology, showed that investments related to the energy transition in 2023 in the United States reached $303 billion. Although the world has spent $1.8 trillion on clean technologies, this amount is not enough to meet climate goals.
They also warned that a Republican victory in the presidential election would threaten US climate efforts. After all, the ex-president of the USA Donald Trump promised, in case of victory in the elections, to cancel the climate law of the current president Joe Biden.
Earlier, EcoPolitic wrote, that the US Department of Energy has allocated $7 billion to launch the first seven Regional Pure Hydrogen Centers (H2Hub), which will produce 3 million metric tons of H2 per year.
As EcoPolitic previously reported, The US Department of Energy (DOE) will allocate $254 million to decarbonize industry, including $83 million to reduce emissions in industrial sectors that are difficult to decarbonize.
