TL/DR –
US green fuel company HIF Global plans to build a $7bn (£5.2bn) commercial scale e-methanol factory in Texas. However, the project’s future is uncertain as the company awaits the Republican-led Congress’s decision on clean energy tax credits, which are under consideration as part of a sweeping budget bill. The Trump administration has been hostile towards green energy, prompting fears that the tax credits will be heavily cut or entirely repealed, which could endanger clean energy initiatives and have a negative impact on the industry long term.
US Green Fuel Company’s $7bn Vision for Texas Suspended Amid Policy Uncertainty
HIF Global, a US green fuel company, has plans for a $7bn commercial scale e-methanol factory in Texas’s Matagorda County, which would be the largest worldwide. However, the company’s investment decision hinges on the future of clean energy tax credits, particularly the one for clean hydrogen production.
The fate of these subsidies is tied into a budget bill currently being considered in the Senate. The legislation passed by the lower house could reduce the hydrogen tax credit. This would affect the American technology utilised in the facility, hampering competition with Chinese e-methanol producers, states Lee Beck, HIF Global’s senior vice president.
The Trump administration has shown hostility towards green energy, including initiating the US’s withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement and suspending renewable energy projects. Trump has also directed agencies to pause Green New Deal funds, which he often refers to as “Green New Scam” funds.
Despite these policies, actual clean energy investment in the US, including both government and private sources, dropped 3.8% in Q1 2025 to $67.3bn, according to the Clean Investment Monitor. The report also noted a record number of clean energy manufacturing projects cancelled in Q1 2025, attributing this trend to high inflation, interest rates, global supply chain issues and policy uncertainty.
Despite uncertainty, companies are shifting how they market their products. LanzaJet, which produces Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) from ethanol, has changed its homepage to emphasize its potential to “harness the energy of locally produced feedstocks”.
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