Policy & Socio-Economics

Climate policy will inevitably lead to the stranding of fossil energy assets such as production and transport assets for coal oil and natural gas. Resourcerich developing countries are particularly aected as they have a higher risk of asset stranding due to strong fossil dependencies and wider societal consequences beyond revenue disruption. However there is only little academic and political awareness of the challenge to manage the asset stranding in these countries as research on transition risk like asset stranding is still in its infancy. We provide a research framework to identify wider societal consequences of fossil asset stranding. We apply it to a case study of Nigeria. Analyzing dierent policy measures we argue that compensation payments come with implementation challenges. Instead of one policy alone to address asset stranding a problem-oriented mix of policies is needed. Renewable hydrogen and just energy transition partnerships can be a contribution to economic development and SDGs. However they can only unfold their potential if fair benefit sharing and an improvement to the typical institutional problems in resource-rich countries such as the lack of rule of law are achieved. We conclude with presenting a future research agenda for the global community and acade

By passing the delegated acts supplementing the revised Renewable Energy Directive the European Commission has recently set a regulatory benchmark for the classifcation of green hydrogen in the European Union. Controversial reactions to the restricted power purchase for electrolyser operation refect the need for more clarity about the efects of the delegated acts on the cost and the renewable characteristics of green hydrogen. To resolve this controversy we compare diferent power purchase scenarios considering major uncertainty factors such as electricity prices and the availability of renewables in various European locations. We show that the permission for unrestricted electricity mix usage does not necessarily lead to an emission intensity increase partially debilitating concerns by the European Commission and could notably decrease green hydrogen production cost. Furthermore our results indicate that the transitional regulations adopted to support a green hydrogen production ramp-up can result in similar cost reductions and ensure high renewable electricity usage.

Opportunity for future green hydrogen development in Nepal comes with enduse infrastructural challenges. The heavy reliance of industries on fossil fuels (63.4%) despite the abundance of hydroelectricity poses an additional challenge to the green transition of Nepal. The presented work aims to study the possibility of storing and utilizing spilled hydroelectricity due to runoff rivers as a compatible alternative to imported petroleum fuels. This is achieved by converting green hydrogen from water electrolysis and carbon dioxide from carbon capture of hard-to-abate industries into synthetic methane for heating applications via the Sabatier process. An economy-of-scale study was conducted to identify the optimal scale for the reference case (Industries in Makwanpur District Nepal) for establishing the Synthetic Natural Gas (SNG) production industry. The technoeconomic assessment was carried out for pilot scale and reference scale production unit individually. Uncertainty and sensitivity analyses were performed to study the project profitability and the sensitivity of the parameters influencing the feasibility of the production plant. The reference scale for the production of Synthetic Natural Gas was determined to be 40 Tons Per Day (TPD) with a total capital investment of around 72.15 Million USD. Electricity was identified as the most sensitive parameter affecting the levelized cost of production (LCOP). The 40 TPD plant was found to be price competitive to LPG when electricity price is subsidized below 3.55 NPR/unit (2.7 c/unit) from 12 NPR/unit (9.2 c/unit). In the case of the 2 TPD plant for it to be profitable the price of electricity must be subsidized to well below 2 NPR/kWh. The study concludes that the possibility of SNG production in Nepal is profitable and price-competitive at large scales and at the same time limited by the low round efficiency due to conversion losses. Additionally it was observed that highly favorable conditions driven by government policies would be required for the pilot-scale SNG project to be feasible.

Global climate change caused by geological processes is one of the main causes of the 5 global mass extinctions in geological history. Human industrialization activities have caused serious damage to the ecosystem the greenhouse effect of atmospheric CO2 has intensified and the living environment is facing threats and challenges. Carbon neutrality is the active action and common goal of mankind in the face of the climate change crisis therefore probing into its theoretical and technological connotation scientific and technological innovation system has far-reaching significance and broad prospects. Studies indicate that (1) Carbon neutrality reflects the theoretical connotations of “energy science” and “carbon neutrality science” including technical connotations of carbon emission reduction zero carbon emission negative carbon emission and carbon trading. (2) Carbon neutrality spawns new industries such as carbon industry centering on CO2 capture utilization and storage (CCUS or CO2 capture and storage CCS) and hydrogen industry centering on green hydrogen. “Gray carbon” and “black carbon” are the two application attributes of CO2. “Carbonþ” “Carbon” and “Carbon¼” are three carbon-neutral products and technologies. (3) China faces three major challenges in achieving the goal of carbon neutrality: first energy transition is large in scale and the cycle is short; Second there are many problems in the process of energy transition such as security uncertainties economic utilization and unpredictable disruptive technologies; Third after transition we may face new key techno-logical “bottlenecks” and “broken chain” of key mineral resources. (4) Based on current knowledge to predict the top 10 disruptive technologies and industries in the energy field: underground coal gasification in-situ conversion process of medium and low-mature shale oil CCUS/CCS hydrogen energy and fuel cells bio-photovoltaic power generation space-based solar power generation optical storage smart micro-grid super energy storage controllable nuclear fusion wisdom energy Internet. Five strategic projects will be implemented including energy conservation and efficiency improvement carbon reduction and sequestration scientific and technological innovation emergency reserve and policy support. (5) In the future different types of energy will have different orientations. Coal will play the role of ensuring the national energy strategy “reserve” and “guarantee the bottom line”. Petroleum will play the role of ensuring national energy security “urgent need” and the “cornerstone” of raw materials in people's livelihood. Natural gas will play the role in ensuring national energy “safety” and “best partner” of new energy. New energy will play the role in ensuring the “replacement” and “main force” of the national energy strategy. (6) Carbon neutrality is a major practice of the green industrial revolution carbon reduction energy revolution and ecological technology revolution which will bring new and profound changes to human society the environment and the economy. (7) Carbon neutrality needs to follow the four principles of “disruptive breakthroughs in technology guarantee of energy security realization of economic feasibility and controllable social stability”. We should rely on technological innovation and management changes to ensure the realization of national energy “independence” and carbon neutrality goal and make China's contribution to the construction of a livable earth green development and ecological civilization.

Transforming Europe into a climate neutral economy and society by 2050 requires extraordinary efforts and the mobilisation of all sectors and economic actors coupled with all the creative and brain power one can imagine. Each sector has to fundamentally rethink the way it operates to ensure it can be transformed towards this new net-zero paradigm without jeopardising other environmental and societal objectives both within the EU and globally. Given the scale of the transformation ahead our ability to meet climate neutrality targets directly depends on our ability to innovate. In this context Research & Innovation programmes have a key role to play and it is crucial to ensure they are fit for purpose and well equipped to support the next wave of breakthrough innovations that will be required to achieve climate neutrality in the EU and globally by 2050. The objective of this study is to contribute to these strategic planning discussions by not only identifying high-risk and high-impact climate mitigation solutions but most importantly look beyond individual solutions and consider how systemic interactions of climate change mitigation approaches can be integrated in the development of R&I agendas.

Hydrogen is experiencing a resurgence in energy transition debates. Before representing a solution however the existing hydrogen economy is still a climate change headache: over 99 % of production depends on fossil fuels oil refining accounts for 42 % of demand and its transportation is intertwined with fossil infrastructure like natural gas pipelines. This article investigates the path-dependent dynamics shaping the hydrogen economy and its interconnections with the oil and gas industry. It draws on the global production networks (GPN) approach and political economy research to provide a comprehensive review of current and prospective enduses of hydrogen modes of transport networks of industrial actors and state strategies along the major production facilities and holders of intellectual property rights. The results presented in this article suggest that the superimposition of private agendas may jeopardise the viability of future energy systems and requires counterbalancing forces to override the negative consequences of path-dependent energy transitions.

Energy production and consumption are major contributors to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions exacerbating one of the greatest challenges faced by modern societies: climate change. Thus societies must switch to more sustainable energy sources. Green hydrogen has emerged as a promising alternative energy carrier facilitating storage and utilization across various industries. However amidst different production processes solely sustainable electrolysis stands out as an environmentally benign production method. Hydrogen producers must prove provenance and sustainable production to regulatory bodies and hydrogen buyers to comply with the regulations for sustainable development. Blockchain provides a viable solution encompassing trustworthy and secure information sharing between untrusted partners. In this article we employ a design science research approach to develop a blockchain-based certification system (BLC-CS) for green hydrogen. Through collaboration with experts to gather requirements and conduct evaluations we design an artifact that streamlines the certification process for producers regulators and consumers. Our proposed solution facilitates information gathering verification and reporting contributing to the advancement of sustainable energy practices. We provide a comprehensive discussion of the BLC-CS’s feasibility for green hydrogen certification including technical extensions recommendations for practitioners and directions for future research.

The production of green hydrogen through electrolysis utilizing renewable energies is recognized as a pivotal element in the pursuit of decarbonization. In order to attain cost competitiveness for green hydrogen reasonable generation costs are imperative. To identify cost-effective import partners for Germany given its limited green hydrogen production capabilities this study undertakes an exhaustive techno-economic analysis to determine the potential Levelized Cost of Hydrogen in Germany Norway Spain Algeria Morocco and Egypt for the year 2050 which represents a critical milestone in European decarbonization efforts. Employing a stochastic approach with Monte Carlo simulations the paper marks a significant contribution for projecting future cost ranges acknowledging the multitude of uncertainties inherent in related cost parameters and emphasizing the importance of randomness in these assessments. Country-specific Weighted Average Cost of Capital are calculated in order to create a refined understanding of political and economic influences on cost formation rather than using a uniform value across all investigated nations. Key findings reveal that among the evaluated nations PV-based hydrogen emerges as the most cost-efficient alternative in all countries except Norway with Spain presenting the lowest Levelized Cost of Hydrogen at 1.66 €/kg to 3.12 €/kg followed by Algeria (1.72 €/kg to 3.23 €/kg) and Morocco (1.73 €/kg to 3.28 €/kg). Consequently for economically favorable import options Germany is advised to prioritize PV-based hydrogen imports from these countries. Additionally hydrogen derived from onshore wind in Norway (2.24 €/kg to 3.73 €/kg) offers a feasible import alternative. To ensure supply chain diversity and reduce dependency on a single source a mixed import strategy is advisable. Despite having the lowest electricity cost Egypt shows the highest Levelized Cost of Hydrogen primarily due to a significant Weighted Average Cost of Capital.

The defossilization of industry has far-reaching implications regarding the future demand for hydrogen and other forms of energy. This paper presents and applies a fundamental bottom-up model that relies on techno-economic data of industrial production processes. Its aim is to identify across a range of scenarios the most cost-effective low-carbon options considering a variety of production systems. Subsequently it derives the hydrogen and electricity demand that would result from the implementation of these least-cost low-carbon options in process industries in Germany. Aligning with the German government's target year for achieving climate neutrality this study’s reference year is 2045. The primary contribution lies in analyzing which hydrogen-based and direct electrification solutions would be cost-effective for a range of energy price levels under climate-neutral industrial production and what the resulting hydrogen and electricity demand would be. To this end the methodology of this paper comprises the following steps: selection of the relevant industries (I) definition of conventional reference production systems and their low-carbon options (II) investigation and processing of the techno-economic data of the standardized production systems (III) establishment of a scenario framework (IV) determination of the least-cost low-carbon solution of a conventional reference production system under the scenario assumptions made (V) and estimation of the resulting hydrogen and electricity demand (VI). According to the results the expected industrial hydrogen consumption in 2045 ranges from 255 TWh for higher hydrogen prices in or above the range of onshore wind-based green hydrogen supply costs to up to 542 TWh for very low hydrogen prices corresponding to typical blue hydrogen production costs. Meanwhile the direct electricity consumption of the process industries in the results ranges from 122 TWh for these rather low hydrogen prices to 368 TWh for the higher hydrogen prices in the region of or above the hydrogen supply costs from the electrolysis of energy from an onshore wind farm. Most of the break-even hydrogen prices that are relevant to the choice of low-carbon options are in the range of the benchmark purchase costs for blue hydrogen and green hydrogen produced from offshore wind power which span between €40 per MWh and €97 per MWh.

Japan has formulated a net-zero emissions target by 2050. Existing scenarios consistent with this target generally depend on carbon dioxide removal (CDR). In addition to domestic mitigation actions the import of low-carbon energy carriers such as hydrogen and synfuels and negative emissions credits are alternative options for achieving net-zero emissions in Japan. Although the potential and costs of these actions depend on global energy system transition characteristics which can potentially be informed by the global integrated assessment models they are not considered in current national scenario assessments. This study explores diverse options for achieving Japan's net-zero emissions target by 2050 using a national energy system model informed by international energy trade and emission credits costs estimated with a global energy system model. We found that demand-side electrification and approximately 100 Mt-CO2 per year of CDR implementation equivalent to approximately 10% of the current national CO2 emissions are essential across all net-zero emissions scenarios. Upscaling of domestically generated hydrogen-based alternative fuels and energy demand reduction can avoid further reliance on CDR. While imports of hydrogen-based energy carriers and emission credits are effective options annual import costs exceed the current cost of fossil fuel imports. In addition import dependency reaches approximately 50% in the scenario relying on hydrogen imports. This study highlights the importance of considering global trade when developing national net-zero emissions scenarios and describes potential new roles for global models.

The goal of achieving a zero-emission energy system by 2050 requires accurate energy planning to minimise the overall cost of the energy transition. Long-term energy models based on cost-optimal solutions are extremely dependent on the cost forecasts of different technologies. However such forecasts are inherently uncertain. The aim of the present work is to identify a cost-optimal pathway for the Italian energy system decarbonisation and assess how renewable cost scenarios can affect the optimal solution. The analysis has been carried out with the H2RES model a single-objective optimisation algorithm based on Linear Programming. Different cost scenarios for photovoltaics on-shore and off-shore wind power and lithium-ion batteries are simulated. Results indicate that a 100% renewable energy system in Italy is technically feasible. Power-to-X technologies are crucial for balancing purposes enabling a share of non-dispatchable generation higher than 90%. Renewable cost scenarios affect the energy mix however both on-shore and off-shore wind saturate the maximum capacity potential in almost all scenarios. Cost forecasts for lithium-ion batteries have a significant impact on their optimal capacity and the role of hydrogen. Indeed as battery costs rise fuel cells emerge as the main solution for balancing services. This study emphasises the importance of conducting cost sensitivity analyses in long-term energy planning. Such analyses can help to determine how changes in cost forecasts may affect the optimal strategies for decarbonising national energy systems.

The EAH team discuss Nataliya’s plan for a green Ukraine including working with the current government on the Hydrogen Road Map. We also get another example of incredible Ukrainian resilience and discuss its importance for the current and future energy system.

The podcast can be found on their website.

Green hydrogen a zero-carbon emission fuel has become a real competitor to transform the energy market thanks to improvements in the electrolysis process decreased costs and the presence of renewable energy resources. Energy industries have shown considerable progress in hydrogen production due to the incorporation of artificial intelligence (AI) knowledge through algorithms AI-based models and data programs. These techniques can greatly enhance the production storage and transportation of hydrogen fuel. The main goal of this article is to demonstrate the recent technological advancements and the influence of various AI techniques algorithms and models on the hydrogen energy sector along with this further examination of the energy policies of countries like China Japan India and South Korea. The key challenges related to these energy policies are addressed through standardized datasets AI models and optimized environmental conditions. This paper serves as a valuable resource for researchers engineers and practitioners interested in applying cutting-edge technologies to enhance hydrogen safety systems. AI-based models contribute to the overall shift towards a sustainable energy future by enhancing efficiency reducing costs and facilitating hydrogen energy commerce for Asian countries. This study accelerates the global investigation and tremendous applications of sophisticated machine-learning methodologies for producing renewable green hydrogen.

For the second episode in this new season the team interviews Oghosa Erhahon to discuss hydrogen opportunities in Africa including the African Climate Summit in September and what to look forward to at COP28.

The podcast can be found on their website.

Insular regions face unique energy management challenges due to physical isolation. Graciosa (Azores) has high renewable energy sources (RES) potential theoretically enabling a 100% green system. However RES intermittency combined with the lack of energy storage solutions reduces renewable penetration and raises curtailment. This article studies the technical and economic feasibility of producing green hydrogen from curtailment energy in Graciosa through two distinct case studies. Case Study 1 targets maximum renewable penetration with green hydrogen serving as chemical storage converted back to electricity via fuel cells during RES shortages. Case Study 2 focuses on maximum profitability where produced gases are sold to monetize curtailment without additional electricity production. Levelized Cost of Hydrogen (LCOH) values of €3.06/kgH2 and €2.68/kgH2 respectively and Internal Rate of Return (IRR) values of 3.7% and 17.1% were obtained for Case Studies 1 and 2 with payback periods of 15.2 and 6.1 years. Hence only Case Study 2 is economically viable but it does not allow increasing the renewable share in the energy mix. Sensitivity analysis for Case Study 1 shows that overall efficiency and CAPEX are the main factors affecting viability highlighting the need for technological advances and economies of scale as well as the importance of public funding to promote projects like this.

To meet decarbonization targets demand for low-emission hydrogen is increasing. A considerable share of supply will come from latecomer countries. We study how latecomer countries and firms participate in the emerging global low-emission hydrogen economy and how industrial policies can help maximize societal benefits. This requires a specific conceptualization of industrial policy: First the latecomer condition calls for specific policy mixes as latecomers typically cannot build on established innovation systems and network externalities and rather need to combine FDI attraction with measures strengthening absorptive capacity and ensuring knowledge transfer from FDI to domestic firms; second low-emission hydrogen is a policy-induced alternative that requires creating entirely new firm ecosystems while competing with lower-cost emission-intensive incumbent technologies. Hence industrial policies need to account for enhanced coordination failure and internalization of environmental costs. We analyze the published national hydrogen strategies of 20 latecomer economies and derive a novel typology differentiating four hydrogen-specific industrial development pathways. For each pathway we assess entry barriers and risks identify the policies suggested in the country strategies and discuss how likely those are to be successful. The novel pathway typology and comparison of associated policy mixes may help policymakers maximize the gains of hydrogen investments.

This report aims to summarise the status of the European hydrogen market landscape. It is based on the information available at the European Hydrogen Observatory (EHO) initiative the leading source of data on hydrogen in Europe exploring the basic concepts latest trends and role of hydrogen in the energy transition. The data presented in this report is based on research conducted until the end of September 2024. This report contains information on current hydrogen production and trade distribution and storage end-use cost and technology manufacturing as of the end of 2023 except if stated otherwise in Europe. A substantial portion of the data gathering was carried out within the framework of Hydrogen Europe's efforts for the European Hydrogen Observatory. Downloadable spreadsheets of the data can be accessed on the website: https://observatory.clean-hydrogen.europa.eu/. The production and trade section provides insights into hydrogen production capacity and production output by technology in Europe and into international hydrogen trade (export and import) to and between European countries. The section referring to distribution and storage presents the location and main attributes of operational dedicated hydrogen pipelines and storage facilities as well as publicly accessible and operational hydrogen refuelling stations in Europe. The end-use section provides information on annual hydrogen consumption per end-use in Europe the deployment of hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles in Europe the current and future hydrogen Valleys in Europe and the leading scenarios for future hydrogen demand in Europe in 2030 2040 and 2050 by sector. The cost chapter offers a comprehensive examination of the levelised cost of hydrogen production by technology and country. This chapter also gives estimations of renewable hydrogen break-even prices for different end-use applications in addition to electrolyser cost components by technology. Finally a chapter on technologies manufacturing explores data on the European electrolyser manufacturing capacity and sales and the fuel cell market.

To address the global climate crisis maritime logistics are undergoing a transition away from fossil-based energy sources. The transition is envisaged to be both green (involving renewables) and digital (involving various kinds of digitalization). Much of the hope rests on the new hydrogen economy involving the build-up of infrastructure for hydrogen-derived alternative fuels such as methanol and ammonia. Indeed the new hydrogen economy is often portrayed as set to revolutionize maritime transport. The hope behind the hype reflects a belief in the performativity of hypes: some technological phenomenon will eventually materialise in innovation and business practices. In this paper we critically analyse the current hydrogen hype in the field of Finnish maritime logistics as a paradigmatic case of performative techno-optimism. Based on causal network analysis and thematic analysis of expert interviews and workshop data we argue that the phenomenon of performative techno-optimism is more nuanced than hitherto presented in the related literature. We showcase a variety of stances along a spectrum ranging from radical optimism to radical pessimism. Furthermore our causal network analysis indicates that the current green and digital transition of maritime transport is caught in a systemic catch-22: transitioning to alternative fuels in maritime logistics faces a lock-in of between overly cautious demand for alternative fuels leading to overly cautious investment in supply which only secures the modest demand. Finally our thematic analysis of techno-optimist stances suggests the following two major ways out of the systemic dilemma: large-scale technological innovations and global regulatory solutions.

Hydrogen Valley represents localised ecosystems that enable the integrated production storage distribution and utilisation of hydrogen to support the decarbonisation of the energy system. However planning such integrated systems necessitates a detailed evaluation of their interconnections with variable renewable generation sector coupling and system flexibility. The novelty of this work lies in addressing a critical gap in system-level modelling for Hydrogen Valleys by introducing an optimization-based framework to determine their optimal configuration. This study focuses on the scenario-based multiobjective design of local hydrogen energy systems considering renewable integration infrastructure deployment and sector coupling. We developed and simulated three scenarios based on varying hydrogen pathways and penetration levels using the EnergyPLAN model implemented through a custom MATLAB Toolbox. Several decision variables such as renewable energy capacity electrolyser size and hydrogen storage were optimised to minimise CO₂ emissions total annual system cost and critical excess electricity production simultaneously. The findings show that Hydrogen Valley deployment can reduce CO₂ emissions by up to 30 % triple renewable penetration in the primary energy supply and lower the levelized cost of hydrogen from 7.6 €/kg to 5.6 €/kg despite a moderate increase in the total cost of the system. The approach highlights the potential of sector coupling and Power-to-X technologies in enhancing system flexibility and supporting green hydrogen integration. The outcome of our research offers valuable insights for policymakers and planners seeking to align local hydrogen strategies with broader decarbonisation targets and regulatory frameworks.

Many countries of the Global South struggle to achieve inclusive growth paths despite investment in the exploitation of rich resources. Resource-based industrialization literature stresses the potential for achieving broader development effects via the development of production linkages with local enterprises. The focus lies on market-driven outsourcing dynamics that foster linkage development such as efficiency location-specific knowledge and technology and scale complexity. However little is known about the opportunity space for both policy making and local firms to create these linkages. To address this issue we incorporate the concept of change agency stemming from the path development literature into the discussion on production linkages to show how both (local) firm agency and system-level agency can achieve linkage creation for inclusive path transplantation. We illustrate the framework by scrutinizing the potential inclusion of solar energy companies in Namibia’s emerging green hydrogen economy. The study finds that while the potential for renewable energy companies in Namibia to participate in the value chain is limited an integrated bundle of measures relying on firm- and system-level agency could address peripheral contextual factors overcome entry barriers and leverage further potential for linkage creation in the solar energy sector: mobilizing the local workforce fostering inter-firm cooperation leveraging local advantages creating knowledge institutions enhancing the regulatory framework upgrading infrastructure and enforcing local content regulations.

Green hydrogen is viewed as a promising pathway to future decarbonized energy systems. However hydrogen production depends on a few critical minerals particularly platinum and iridium. Here we examine how the supply of these minerals is subject to vulnerabilities hidden in interdependent global networks of trade and investment. We develop an index to quantify these vulnerabilities for a combination of a target country an investing country an intermediary country and a commodity. Focusing on the US as the target country for the import of platinum and iridium we show how vulnerability-inducing investing countries changed between 2010 and 2019. We find that the UK is consistently among investing countries that can potentially induce US vulnerabilities via intermediary exporters of platinum and iridium with South Africa being the primary intermediary country. Future research includes incorporating geopolitical factors and technological innovations to move the index closer from potential to real-world vulnerabilities.

Introduction: The implementation of national hydrogen strategies targeting zero-emission goals has sparked public discussions regarding energy and environmental communication. However gaining societal acceptance for hydrogen technology poses a significant challenge in numerous countries. Hence this research investigates the framing of hydrogen technology through a comparative analysis of opinion-leading newspapers in Germany Saudi Arabia the United Arab Emirates and Egypt. Methods: Utilizing a quantitative framing analysis based on Entman’s framing approach this research systematically identifies media frames and comprehend their development through specific frame characteristics. A factor analysis identified six distinct frames: Hydrogen as a Sustainable Energy Solution Benefits of Economic and Political Collaboration Technological and Scientific Challenges Governance Issues and Energy Security Industrial and Climate Solutions and Economic Risk. Results: The findings reveal that newspapers frames vary significantly due to contextual factors such as national hydrogen strategies media systems political ideologies article types and focusing events. Specifically German newspapers display diverse and balanced framing in line with its pluralistic media environment and national emphasis on green hydrogen and energy security while newspapers from MENA countries primarily highlight economic and geopolitical benefits aligned with their national strategies and state-controlled media environments. Additionally the political orientation of newspapers affects the diversity of frames particularly in Germany. Moreover non-opinion articles in Germany exhibit greater framing diversity compared to opinion pieces while in the MENA region the framing remains uniform regardless of article type due to centralized media governance. A notable shift in media framing in Germany was found after a significant geopolitical event which changed the frame from climate mitigation to energy security. Discussion: This study underscores the necessity for theoretical and methodological thoroughness in identifying frames as well as the considerable impact of contextual factors on the media representation of emerging sustainable technologies.

In response to growing environmental concerns hydrogen production has emerged as a critical element in the transition to a sustainable global economy. We evaluate the impact of hydrogen production on both the financial performance and market value of energy sector companies using balanced panel data from 288 European-listed firms over the period of 2018 to 2022. The findings reveal a paradox. While hydrogen production imposes significant financial constraints it is positively recognized by market participants. Despite short-term financial challenges companies engaged in hydrogen production experience higher market value as investors view these activities as a long-term growth opportunity aligned with global sustainability goals. We contribute to the literature by offering empirical evidence on the financial outcomes and market valuation of hydrogen engagement distinguishing between production and storage activities and further categorizing production into green blue and gray hydrogen. By examining these nuances we highlight the complex relationship between financial market results. While hydrogen production may negatively impact short-term financial performance its potential for long-term value creation driven by decarbonization efforts and sustainability targets makes it attractive to investors. Ultimately this study provides valuable insights into how hydrogen engagement shapes corporate strategies within the evolving European energy landscape.

India’s energy sector is undergoing a major transformation as the nation targets energy independence by 2047 and net-zero emissions by 2070. With a high dependency on energy imports a strategic shift toward renewable energy and decarbonisation is crucial. Hydrogen has emerged as a promising solution to address energy storage and sustainability challenges prompting emerging countries to develop strong hydrogen infrastructures. This paper examines various methods involved in the hydrogen value chain from production to utilisation from the perspective of transitioning economies. By identifying key parameters and existing gaps this paper aims to support policymakers and stakeholders in designing effective strategies to accelerate the development of a sustainable and secure hydrogen economy. India currently relies on carbon-intensive hydrogen from fossil fuels. Green hydrogen faces high costs and infrastructure gaps. Despite storage and safety concerns hydrogen shows strong potential for clean energy and industry transformation.

This study explores the feasibility of producing biohydrogen from winery wastewater using a dual-chamber microbial electrolysis cell (MEC). A mixed microbial consortium pre-adapted to heavy-metal environments and enriched with Geobacter sulfurreducens was anaerobically cultivated from diverse waste streams. Over 5000 h of development the MEC system was progressively adapted to winery wastewater enabling long-term electrochemical stability and high organic matter degradation. Upon winery wastewater addition (5% v/v) the system achieved a sustained hydrogen production rate of (0.7 ± 0.3) L H2 L −1 d −1 with an average current density of (60 ± 4) A m−3 and COD removal efficiency exceeding 55% highlighting the system’s resilience despite the presence of inhibitory compounds. Coulombic efficiency and cathodic hydrogen recovery reached (75 ± 4)% and (87 ± 5)% respectively. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy provided mechanistic insight into charge transfer and biofilm development correlating resistive parameters with biological adaptation. These findings demonstrate the potential of MECs to simultaneously treat agro-industrial wastewaters and recover energy in the form of hydrogen supporting circular resource management strategies.