Happy Birthday, IRA!

The IRA changed the game for clean energy innovation in America. Two years in , Heirloom is part of the new class of climate players with significant progress to show for it.?

We remove carbon dioxide emissions directly from the atmosphere––something we can’t meet our climate goals without ––through a cutting-edge acceleration of the mineral limestone’s ability to pull down CO2. Since the IRA passed, we’ve opened America’s first commercial Direct Air Capture (DAC) facility, announced two facilities? in Louisiana ––including a million-ton removal DAC Hub–– and signed some of the largest deals in carbon removal to-date.?

The IRA is why we’re moving from lab to commercial to climate meaningful scale at such a rapid clip. First is through supporting new green jobs. Heirloom’s facilities rely on the same infrastructure and expertise the oil and gas industry has built and honed for decades, without enabling new emissions . We’re creating? new cleantech careers that leverage skills prized in the fossil-based economy – and the? IRA helps make sure these new jobs are well-paid jobs, in everything from carbon removal to hydrogen, EV battery manufacturing, and renewable energy.

The IRA is also ushering in the capital that supports these careers through investment tax credits, or ITCs, which are one of the government’s best tools to amplify early demand in emerging markets. The IRA expanded the 45Q tax credit (first introduced under Republican leadership in 2008) to send companies like Heirloom a $180 credit for every ton of CO2 we capture and permanently store away. That helps capital allocators on the venture and project sides feel comfortable making decade-long investments in carbon removal, including in our new home of Louisiana. In response to this influx of private capital, some Republicans are already drawing a ring fence around certain IRA provisions, regardless of what happens this November.?

Third, the IRA readies the American workforce to achieve net-zero by our 2050 goal. We’re building things again in America and we need the right skills re-ingrained in our workforce to build-out the clean energy, manufacturing, and carbon removal facilities that we need. The IRA builds cradle-to-college skills and training pipelines - enabling classrooms to encourage STE(A)M students to think about careers in climate tech.?

Two years in, we owe a debt of gratitude to the bipartisan cohort of leaders who secured this historic win for our planet in 2022 and who will be vital to protect these gains in our tax code in 2025 and beyond. While we expect debates over the effectiveness of any flagship law, developers like Heirloom, the communities we operate in, and our partners in government and finance will remain focused on building the infrastructure that will drive the carbon economy and meet our climate goals. To hesitate now would jeopardize America’s leadership in the new energy future and undercut the economic momentum already benefiting families across the country.