Safety Overhaul Puts U.S. Hydrogen on Edge

Pending U.S. safety rules could reshape hydrogen investment as Air Products retreats and rivals press ahead

9 Oct 2025

America’s hydrogen industry is entering a delicate phase. Lawmakers are weighing new safety regulations just as some leading producers are scaling back. The PIPES Act of 2025, now moving through House committee hearings, would establish the first federal framework for hydrogen pipeline and storage safety. Its backers say that national standards could reduce investor uncertainty and speed up project approvals. But the measure is still far from passage, leaving developers unsure how to plan.

The bill would expand the authority of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, a small but influential agency. For a technology that aspires to underpin future clean energy systems, such rules could offer long-awaited clarity. Yet regulation can also add costs, and investors remain wary of a market still searching for commercial footing.

Those doubts are visible in boardrooms. Air Products, once the most aggressive builder of clean-hydrogen facilities, has paused or exited several American projects, citing higher costs and weaker demand forecasts. By contrast, Plug Power and Bloom Energy continue to announce new supply contracts, suggesting a more fragmented industry than once imagined.

“The proposed safety rules could provide much-needed structure, but investors are still looking for proof of commercial viability,” said a senior analyst with the Hydrogen Council. That tension, between optimism and retrenchment, captures the sector’s mood.

Some policymakers dream of a “national hydrogen backbone,” a web of pipelines linking production hubs to heavy industry. For now, that vision remains distant. The current landscape is a patchwork of regional ventures and cautious financiers.

Hydrogen retains its appeal as a cleaner fuel for factories and trucks, but progress will depend on more than ambition. The coming year will test whether Congress can deliver regulatory clarity and whether investors still have patience for an energy source whose promise always seems a few years away.