The Economic and Environmental Case for 45Q: An Open Letter to Congress

January 28, 2025

The Honorable Mike Johnson
Speaker of the House
H-232, The Capitol
Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable Hakeem Jeffries
U.S. House Minority Leader
H204, The Capitol
Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable John Thune
U.S. Senate Majority Leader
S-221, The Capitol
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Charles Schumer
U.S. Senate Minority Leader
322 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

Speaker Johnson, Minority Leader Jeffries, Majority Leader Thune, and Minority Leader Schumer,

As business leaders and stakeholders representing the full diversity of the sectors making up the carbon management industry, we write to share our unwavering support for the federal Section 45Q tax credit. 45Q and the projects it incentivizes play a valuable role in providing reliable, affordable domestic energy for American families and solidifying America’s role as a global leader in energy, industrial, and manufacturing production.

Carbon management technologies, including carbon capture, removal, reuse, transport, and storage, are crucial tools for balancing the increasing need for affordable, reliable energy that drives the American economy. At the same time, these technologies help maintain the U.S.'s global leadership position in their demonstration and deployment—especially as countries like China, Canada, the UK, and the EU continue to invest significantly in this expanding sector. With this in mind, we strongly urge Congress to maintain critical bipartisan support for the 45Q tax credit and oppose any efforts to weaken its utility to American businesses.

Carbon Management and the 45Q Tax Credit as a Key Economic Driver

Thanks to bipartisan congressional leadership, carbon management technologies have emerged as a powerful economic driver in the U.S. 45Q encourages innovation, job creation and preservation, and attracts investment in new technologies. Economy-wide deployment of carbon management technologies at industrial and power facilities, along with the scaling of large-scale direct air capture facilities, is an available tool to preserve and expand a high-wage jobs base in key sectors across the nation.

Among clean energy and industrial technologies, the full suite of carbon management technologies is especially critical to sustaining and bolstering our nation’s domestic energy, industrial, and manufacturing base, which cannot be decarbonized through other methods alone. Federal investments in tax policies and research, development, demonstration, and deployment are pivotal for the successful commercial liftoff of these technologies.

Recent federal investments in carbon management have spurred the announcement of more than 270 publicly announced domestic projects spanning the carbon management value chain and technology readiness levels, proving that good policy translates into real-world projects. This combination of economic and job benefits, coupled with emissions reductions, fosters broad, deeply bipartisan support for carbon management technologies—unprecedented in U.S. energy policy.

The 45Q Tax Credit’s Role in Maintaining Global Energy Leadership

Carbon management technologies are essential for preserving America’s economic strength and global competitiveness by ensuring that domestic energy remains abundant and affordable. These technologies help sustain American industries without sacrificing economic growth. As international markets shift toward cleaner, more efficient energy, carbon management technologies allow the U.S. to increase efficiency and attract investments, all while safeguarding and expanding U.S. energy production, manufacturing, and industrial sectors.

By enabling cleaner utilization of domestic energy sources, the 45Q tax credit and carbon management technologies help reduce reliance on foreign energy imports, strengthen U.S. energy independence, and provide American industry with strategic leverage in global energy markets.

Growing U.S. Electricity Demand

Over the past several decades, global energy demand has increased significantly, reinforcing the need for a comprehensive, multifaceted strategy to address planet-warming emissions while maintaining affordable and reliable domestic energy sources. Carbon management supports an “all-of-the-above” energy strategy, ensuring a continued supply of low-emissions energy sources.

As U.S. electricity demand surges in the coming years, low- and zero-emitting firm, dispatchable power resources, including carbon capture at power facilities, will be critical. The 45Q tax credit provides a foundation for public and private sector investments in carbon management technologies, ensuring that domestic energy production remains reliable and sustainable.

Ensuring American Industries Remain Globally Competitive

The U.S. has been the global leader in the commercialization of carbon management technologies for decades, unlocking new markets and economic growth opportunities. However, nations like China, Canada, the UK, and the EU are investing heavily in these technologies, positioning themselves as leaders in deployment and infrastructure development.

To remain competitive, the U.S. must lead the charge in commercializing innovative, clean energy technologies. Carbon management technologies strengthen America’s strategic position in global markets and reinforce our position as the global leader in emissions reduction targets. The 45Q tax credit is the primary driver ensuring that these industries remain viable and competitive.

American businesses spanning multiple sectors, including agriculture, oil and gas, cement and steel, aviation and shipping, and pulp and paper, rely on the certainty that the 45Q tax credit provides to plan investments, hire workers, and secure construction materials. Weakening the 45Q tax credit would halt project deployment and cause announced and future projects to relocate abroad to more favorable policy environments.

With this in mind, we respectfully urge Congress to protect the widely supported, bipartisan investments in the 45Q tax credit. 45Q is central to ensuring that carbon management technologies can:

• Maintain domestic energy supplies
  
• Support a robust and diverse U.S. industrial and manufacturing base
  
• Protect and create family-sustaining jobs
  
• Maintain America’s leadership in clean energy innovation
  

Sincerely,
280 Earth
8 Rivers
ADM
Advanced Resources International, Inc.
Air Company
Aircapture
AirMyne
Aluminum Technologies
Ambiunt Environmental and Regulatory
American Biomass Energy Association
American Chemistry Council
American Conservation Coalition Action
American Iron and Steel Institute
American Petroleum Institute
ArcelorMittal
Avalon International Corporation
Avnos, Inc.
B2E2, LLC
Baker Hughes
Banyu Carbon
BASF Corporation
Battelle
Bipartisan Policy Center Action
Blue Planet Systems
Blue Spruce Operating
Business Council for Sustainable Energy
California Carbon Solutions Coalition
Calpine Corporation
Capital Power
Captura
Capture6
CapturePoint LLC
Carbon Business Council
Carbon Capture Coalition
Carbon GeoCapture
Carbon Removal Alliance
Carbon Solutions
Carbon TerraVault
Carbon Utilization Research Council
Carbon180
CarbonBlue
CarbonCapture Inc.
CarbonCure Technologies
CarbonFree
Carbonova USA LLC
CarbonQuest
Carbonvert
Carmeuse Americas
Celanese Corporation
Cemex, Inc. (US)
Cemvita Inc.
Center for Climate and Energy Solutions
CERT Systems
CF Industries
Chart Industries
Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions (CRES)
Clairity Technology
Clean Air Task Force
Clean Energy Buyers Association
ClearPath Action
Climeworks
Coalition for Renewable Natural Gas
Conservative Texans for Energy Innovation
Core Energy, LLC
Cormetech Inc.
Covestro LLC
CVR Partners, GP
Dimensional Energy
Dioxycle
Direct Air Capture Coalition
DTE Vantage
EDAC Labs
Elimini
Entropy Inc.
Equatic
Fluor
Fortera
Frontier Carbon Solutions
Gevo, Inc.
Global CCS Institute
Green Plains Inc.
Growth Energy
Harvestone Low Carbon Partners
Heidelberg Materials North America
Heimdal
Heirloom
Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, UK
HIF Global
Holcim (US) Inc.
Holocene Climate Corporation
Honeywell
Illinois Clean Fuels
International Brotherhood of Boilermakers
ION Clean Energy
Jackson Hole Center for Global Affairs
John Crane
Jupiter Oxygen Corporation
KC Hill Consulting, LLC
Lake Charles Methanol
LanzaTech, Inc.
Lapis Carbon Solutions
Leilac
LIUNA Midwest Region
LoCI Controls, Inc.
Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil & Gas Association
LSB Industries Inc.
Mantel Capture
Marquis Inc.
Melzer Consulting
Minnkota Power Cooperative
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America
Moulinex Business Services, LLC
National Mining Association
National Ocean Industries Association
National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA)
National Wildlife Federation
Net Power
New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology
NorthStar Clean Energy
Noya
ofCarbon Associates, LLC
Oxylus Energy
Parallel Carbon
Pennsylvania Environmental Council
POET LLC
Portland Cement Association
Remora
Renewable Fuels Association
RenewCO2
Republic Services
Retract LLC
RW Energy
Secant Fuel
Shell USA
Skytree
Spiritus
Steel Manufacturers Association
Summit Carbon Solutions
United Steelworkers
Waste Management
Weyerhaeuser Company
Yama

CC:

The Honorable Jason SmithChairman, House Ways and Means Committee
The Honorable Mike CrapoChairman, Senate Finance Committee
The Honorable Richard NealRanking Member, House Ways and Means Committee
The Honorable Ron WydenRanking Member, Senate Finance Committee

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