Unlocking First-of-a-Kind Projects through Clean Industrial Hubs

The report examines the impact of clean industrial hubs in California and Texas on first-of-a-kind projects, noting that 50% of supported projects reached a final investment decision compared to a 20% global average. It argues that these hubs mobilize investment and reduce emissions by creating enabling ecosystems for innovative first movers across sectors such as hydrogen, sustainable aviation fuel, and low-emissions steel.

• Participation in clean industrial hubs significantly increases the likelihood of projects reaching a final investment decision (FID); 50 percent of the 18 supported projects achieved FID, whereas the global average is 20 percent.
• If all 18 supported projects become operational, they are projected to reduce emissions by 500 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) by 2050 and mobilize $34 billion in combined public and private investment.
• The success of innovative first-mover projects depends on the creation of an enabling ecosystem consisting of public policy, private finance, and community engagement to effectively de-risk the projects.

APA

Skinner, B., Edlridge, C., Watson, D., Delasalle, F., Sheerazi, H., Barton, H., Singh, H., Thayne, J., Ramirez, K., Kargou, K., Sanders, N., & Munoz, P. (2025). Unlocking First-of-a-Kind Projects through Clean Industrial Hubs. RMI. https://rmi.org/resources/unlocking-first-of-a-kind-projects-through-clean-industrial-hubs/

Chicago

Skinner, Ben, Clara Edlridge, Doug Watson, Faustine Delasalle, Hadia Sheerazi, Hannah Barton, Hartej Singh, et al. Unlocking First-of-a-Kind Projects through Clean Industrial Hubs. RMI, 2025. https://rmi.org/resources/unlocking-first-of-a-kind-projects-through-clean-industrial-hubs/.

Wikipedia

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BibTeX

@techreport{skinner2025unlocking, author = {Skinner, Ben and Edlridge, Clara and Watson, Doug and Delasalle, Faustine and Sheerazi, Hadia and Barton, Hannah and Singh, Hartej and Thayne, Julia and Ramirez, Kaitlyn and Kargou, Kurt and Sanders, Nocona and Munoz, Pablo}, title = {{Unlocking First-of-a-Kind Projects through Clean Industrial Hubs}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2025}, month = may, url = {https://rmi.org/resources/unlocking-first-of-a-kind-projects-through-clean-industrial-hubs/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }