Fortescue executive chairman Andrew Forrest and oil and gas producer Woodside Energy have emerged as unlikely allies in the fight over legislative changes they say are threatening hydrogen projects in the United States.

The two biggest Perth-based companies on the ASX have found common ground in lobbying against plans by US Treasury officials to restrict the availability of tax credits for hydrogen developments through the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act. Both companies had counted on access to those incentives to underpin their US hydrogen ventures.