Policy & Socio-Economics

Export-oriented green-hydrogen projects (EOGH2P) are being developed in regions with optimal renewableenergy resources. Their reliance on economies of scale makes them land-intensive and object of spatial planning policies. However the impact of spatial planning on the development of EOGH2P remains underexplored. Drawing on the spatial planning and megaproject literatures the analysis of planning documents and expert interviews this paper analyzes how spatial planning influences the development of EOGH2P in Chile Namibia and South Africa. The three countries have developed different spatial planning approaches for EOGH2Ps and are analyzed by employing a comparative case-study design. Our findings reveal that Namibia pursues a restrictive approach South Africa a facilitative approach whereas Chile is shifting from a market-based to a restrictive approach. The respective approaches reflect different political priorities and stakeholder interests and imply diverse effects on the development of EOGH2Ps in terms of their number size shared infrastructure socioenvironmental impact and acceptance. This study underscores the need for well-designed spatial planning frameworks and provides insights for planners and stakeholders on their potential effects.

Creating a hydrogen market in Africa is a great opportunity to assist in the promotion of sustainable energy solutions and economic growth. This article addresses the legislation and regulations that need to be developed to facilitate growth in the hydrogen market and allow local green hydrogen offtake across the continent. By reviewing current policy and strategy within particular African countries and best practices globally from key hydrogen economies the review establishes compelling issues challenges and opportunities unique to Africa. The study identifies the immense potential in Africa for renewable energy and in particular for solar and wind as the foundation for the production of green hydrogen. It examines how effective policy frameworks can establish a vibrant hydrogen economy by bridging infrastructural gaps cost hurdles and regulatory barriers. The paper also addresses how local offtake contracts for green hydrogen can be used to stimulate economic diversification energy security and sustainable development. Policy advice is provided to assist African authorities and stakeholders in the deployment of enabling regulatory frameworks and the mobilization of funds. The paper contributes to global hydrogen energy discussions by introducing Africa as an eligible stakeholder in the emerging hydrogen economy and outlining prospects for its inclusion into regional and global energy supply chains.

The utilisation of renewable energy sources for hydrogen production is increasingly vital for ensuring the long-term sustainability of global energy systems. Currently the Sultanate of Oman is actively integrating renewable energy particularly through the deployment of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems as part of its ambitious targets for the forthcoming decades. Also Oman has target to achieve 1 million tonnes of green-H2 production annually. Leveraging Oman's abundant solar resources to produce green hydrogen and promote the clean transportation industry could significantly boost the country's sustainable energy sector. This paper outlines a standalone bifacial solar-powered system designed for large-scale green hydrogen (H2) production and storage to operate both a hydrogen refuelling station and an electric vehicle charging station in Sohar Oman. Using HOMER software three scenarios: PV/Hydrogen/Battery PV/Hydrogen PV/Battery systems were compared from a techno-economic perspective. Also the night-time operation (Battery/Hydrogen) was investigated. Varying cost of electricity were obtained depending on the system from $3.91/kWh to $0.0000565kWh while the bifacial PV/Hydrogen/Battery system emerged as the most efficient option boasting a unit cost of electricity (COE) of $3.91/kWh and a levelized cost of hydrogen (LCOH) value of $6.63/kg with net present cost 199M. This system aligns well with Oman's 2030 objectives with the capacity to generate 1 million tonnes of green-H2 annually. Additionally the findings show that the surplus electricity from the system could potentially cover over 30% of Oman's total energy consumption with zero harmful emissions. The implementation of this system promises to enhance Oman's economic and transportation industries by promoting the adoption of electric and fuel cell vehicles while reducing reliance on traditional energy sources.

The effects of climate change and reliance on fossil fuels in the Alps highlight the need for energy sufficiency improved efficiency and renewable energy deployment to support decarbonization goals. Hydrogen has gained attention as a versatile zero-emission energy carrier with the potential to drive cleaner energy solutions and sustainable tourism in Alpine regions. This study shares findings from a hydrogen survey conducted within the Interreg Alpine Space AMETHyST project which included questionnaires and roundtable discussions across Alpine territories. The survey explored hydrogen’s role in decarbonizing the Alps gathering insights from local stakeholders about their knowledge expertise needs and targets for hydrogen solutions. It also mapped existing hydrogen initiatives. Results revealed strong interest in hydrogen implementation with many territories eager to launch projects. However high investment and operational costs along with associated risks are key barriers. The absence of clear local hydrogen strategies and of a comprehensive regulatory framework also poses significant challenges. Incentivization schemes could facilitate initiatives and foster local hydrogen economies. The most promising application areas for hydrogen in the Alps are private and public mobility sectors. The residential sector particularly in tourist accommodations also presents potential. Regardless of specific uses developing renewable energy capacity and infrastructure is essential to create green hydrogen ecosystems that can store excess renewable energy from intermittent sources for later use.

Hydrogen (H2) used as feedstock (i.e. as raw material) in chemicals refineries and steel is currently produced from fossil fuels thus leading to significant carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. As these hard-to-abate sectors have limited electrification alternatives H2 produced by electrolysis offers a potential option for decarbonising them. Existing modelling analyses to date provide limited insights due to their predominant use of sector-specific static non-recursive and non-open models. This paper advances research by presenting a dynamic recursive open-access energy model using System Dynamics to study long-term systemic and environmental impacts of transitioning from fossil-based methods to electrolytic H2 production for industrial feedstock. The regional model adopts a bottom-up approach and is applied to the EU across five innovative decarbonisation scenarios including varying technological transition speeds and a paradigm-shift scenario (Degrowth). Our results indicate that assuming continued H2 demand trends and large-scale electrolytic H2 deployment by 2030 grid decarbonisation in the EU must accelerate to ensure green H2 for industrial feedstock emits less CO2 than fossil fuel methods doubling the current pace. Otherwise electrolytic H2 won’t offer clear CO2 reduction benefits until 2040. The most effective CO2 emission mitigation occurs in growth-oriented ambitious decarbonisation (− 91 %) and Degrowth (− 97 %) scenarios. From a sectoral perspective H2 use in steel industry achieves significantly greater decarbonisation (− 97 %). However meeting electricity demand for electrolytic H2 (700–1180 TWh in 2050 for 14–22.5 Mtons) in growth-oriented scenarios would require 25 %–42 % of the EU’s current electricity generation exceeding current renewable capacity and placing significant pressure on future power system development.

The EU targets 10 Mt of green hydrogen production by 2030 but has not committed to targets for 2040. Green hydrogen competes with carbon capture and storage biomass and imports as well as direct electrification in reaching emissions reductions; earlier studies have demonstrated the great uncertainty in future costoptimal development of green hydrogen. In spite of this we show that Europe risks little by setting green hydrogen production targets at around 25 Mt by 2040. Employing an extensive scenario analysis combined with novel near-optimal techniques we find that this target results in systems that are within 10% of cost-optimal in all considered scenarios with current-day biomass availability and baseline transportation electrification. Setting concrete targets is important in order to resolve significant uncertainty that hampers investments. Targeting green hydrogen reduces the dependence on carbon capture and storage and green fuel imports making for a more robust European climate strategy.

The year 2024 saw a year of important developments for the Clean Hydrogen JU continuing built on the achievements of previous years and intensifying the efforts on hydrogen valleys. With a total operational commitment of EUR 203 million and the launch of 22 new projects the overall portfolio reached a total number of 147 projects under active management towards the end of the year. The budget execution reached the outstanding level of 98% in for commitments and 84% in payments in line with previous year showing the JU’s continued effort to use the available credits. In 2024 the JU launched a call for proposals with a budget of EUR 113.5 million covering R&I activities across the whole hydrogen value chain to which was added an amount of EUR 60 million from the RePowerEU plan focusing on hydrogen valleys. That amount served for valleys-related grants and the “Hydrogen Valleys Facility” tender designed for project development assistance that will support Hydrogen Valleys at different levels of maturity. The Hydrogen Valleys concept has become a key instrument for the European Commission to scale up hydrogen technology deployment and establish interconnections between hydrogen ecosystems. At the end of 2024 the Clean Hydrogen JU has already funded 20 hydrogen valleys. This support was complemented by additional credits from third countries and the optimal use- of leftover credits from previous years allowing the award of 29 new grants from the call for 2024.

Green hydrogen produced from renewable energy sources such as wind and solar is increasingly recognized as a critical enabler of the global energy transition and the decarbonization of industrial and transport sectors. The successful adoption of green hydrogen and its derivatives is closely linked to production costs which can vary substantially between countries depending not only on resource potential but also on country-specific financing conditions. These differences arise from country-specific risk factors that affect the costs of capital ultimately influencing investment decisions. However comprehensive assessments that integrate these risks with future cost projections for renewable energy green hydrogen and its synthetic downstream products are lacking. Using the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) as an example this study introduces a novel approach that allows to incorporate mainly qualitative country-specific investment risks into quantitative analyses such as costpotential and energy modelling. Our methodology calculates weighted average costs of capital (WACC) for 17 MENA countries under different risk scenarios providing a more nuanced assessment compared to traditional models that use uniform cost of capital assumptions. The results indicate significant variations in WACC such as between 4.67% in the United Arab Emirates and 24.84% in Yemen or Syria in the business-as-usual scenario. The incorporation of country-specific capital cost scenarios in quantitative analysis is demonstrated by modelling the cost-potential of Fischer-Tropsch (FT) fuels. The results show that countryspecific investment risks significantly impact costs. For instance by 2050 the starting LCOFs in high-risk scenarios can be up to 180% higher than in lowerrisk contexts. This underlines that while renewable energy potential and its cost are important it are the country-specific risk factors—captured through WACC—that have a greater influence in determining the competitiveness of exports and consequently the overall development of the renewable energy green hydrogen and synthetic fuel sectors.

The potential for hydrogen to reshape energy systems has been recognized for over a century. Yet as decarbonization priorities have sharpened in many regions three distinct frontier areas are critical to consider: hydrogen produced from wind; hydrogen produced from nuclear power; and the development of natural hydrogen. These pathways reflect technology and policy changes including a 54% increase in the globally installed wind capacity since 2020 plus new signs of potential emerging in nuclear energy and natural hydrogen. Broadly speaking there are a considerable number of studies covering hydrogen production from electrolysis yet none systematically examine wind- and nuclear-derived hydrogen natural hydrogen or the policies that enable their adoption in key countries. This article highlights international policy and technology developments with a focus on prime movers: Germany China the US and Russia.

Hydrogen energy one of the renewable energy sources plays a crucial role in combating climate change since its usage aims to reduce carbon emissions and enhance energy security. As the global energy trend moves toward cleaner alternatives countries start to adapt their energy strategies. In this transition hydrogen is one of the energy sources with the potential to increase long-term energy security. Developing countries face challenges such as high energy import dependency rising industrial demand and the need for infrastructure modernization making hydrogen valleys one of the viable solutions since they integrate hydrogen production storage distribution and utilization at one facility. However establishing small-scale hydrogen valleys requires a comprehensive decision-making strategy consisting of technical financial environmental social and political factors while addressing uncertainties in the system. To systematically manage the process this study proposes a Z-numberbased fuzzy cognitive mapping approach which models the interdependencies among success factors supported by Z-number Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory for structured prioritization with a multi-expert perspective. The results indicate that Financial Factors emerged as the most critical category with Government Incentives Infrastructure Investment Cost and Land Acquisition Cost ranking as the top three sub-success factors. Availability of Skilled Workforce and Regional Energy Supply followed in importance which demonstrates the importance of social and technical dimensions in the hydrogen valley development. These findings demonstrate the critical role of policy support infrastructure readiness and workforce availability in the design process. Sensitivity analyses are also conducted to present robustness of the given decisions for the analysis of the results. Based on the results and analyses possible implications based on the policy and practical dimensions are also discussed. By integrating fuzzy logic and Z-numbers the study aims to minimize loss of information enhances the analytical background for decision-making and provides a strategic roadmap for hydrogen valley development.

Considering rising environmental concerns and the energy transition towards sustainable energy Singapore’s power sector stands at a crucial juncture. This study explores the integration of grid infrastructure with both generated and imported renewable energy (RE) sources as a strategic pathway for the city-state’s energy transition to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Employing a combination of simulation modeling and data analysis for energy trading and advanced energy management technologies we examine the current and new grid infrastructure’s capacity to assimilate RE sources particularly solar photovoltaic and energy storage systems. The findings reveal that with strategic upgrades and smart grid technologies; Singapore’s grid can efficiently manage the variability and intermittency of RE sources. This integration is pivotal in achieving a higher penetration of renewables as well as contributing significantly to Singapore’s commitment to the Paris Agreement and sustainable development goals. While the Singapore’s power system has links to the Malay Peninsula the planned ASEAN regional interconnection might alter the grid operation in Singapore and possibly make Singapore a new green energy hub. The study also highlights the key challenges and opportunities associated with cross-border energy trade with ASEAN countries including the need for harmonized regulatory frameworks and incentives to foster public–private partnerships. The insights from this study could guide policymakers industry stakeholders and researchers offering a roadmap for a sustainable energy transition in Singapore towards meeting its 2050 carbon emission goals.

Bioenergy is a promising alternative to fossil fuels-based energy with significant potential to transform global energy systems and promote environmental sustainability. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the evolution of bioenergy emphasizing its role in the global transition to sustainable energy. It explores a diverse range of biomass sources including forest and agricultural residues algae and industrial by-products and their conversion into energy via thermochemical biochemical and physicochemical pathways. The paper also highlights recent technological advancements and assesses the environmental sustainability of bioenergy systems. Additionally it examines key challenges hindering bioenergy development such as feedstock logistics technological limitations economic viability and policy gaps that need resolution to fully realise its potential. By synthesizing literature from 2010 to 2025 the review identifies strategic priorities for research and deployment aiming to inform efforts that align bioenergy utilization with global decarbonization goals.

China’s dual-carbon goals have positioned hydrogen as a central pillar of its energy transition. This review examines the recent development of China’s hydrogen supply chain with particular focus on manufacturing technologies for alkaline electrolysers high-pressure cylinders and diaphragm compressors. In 2024 China produced 36.5 million tons of hydrogen of which 77 % was grey and only 1 % derived from electrolysis. Storage and transportation account for nearly 30 % of end-use costs while reliance on imported compressors increases refuelling station expenses by approximately 40 %. We identify key bottlenecks including limited electrolyser efficiency the high cost of carbon fibres for Type III/IV cylinders and insufficient domestic capacity for highreliability compressors. To address these challenges targeted advances are proposed: membrane materials with engineered hydrophilicity advanced surface modifications and hydrophilic inhibitors; liner design incorporating grooved-liner braided layers with double-fibre configurations; and a three-layer diaphragm compressor architecture. By consolidating fragmented studies this review provides the integrated manufacturing perspective on China’s hydrogen supply chain offering both scientific insights and practical guidance for accelerating costeffective large-scale low-carbon hydrogen deployment.

Green hydrogen has become a core element of Europe’s energy transition to assist in lowering carbon emissions. However the transition to green hydrogen faces challenges including the cost of production availability of renewable energy sources public opposition and the need for supportive government policies and financial initiatives. While there are other alternatives for producing low-carbon hydrogen for example blue hydrogen German funding favours projects that involve hydrogen production via electrolysis. Beyond climate goals it is anticipated that a green hydrogen industry will create economic benefits and a wide-range of collaborative opportunities with key international partnerships increasing energy security if done appropriately. Germany a leader in green hydrogen technology will need to rely on imports to meet long-term demand due to limited renewable energy capacity. Despite the current obstacles to transitioning to green hydrogen it is felt that ultimately the benefits of this industry and reducing emissions will outweigh the associated costs of production. This study analyses the hydrogen transition in Germany by interviewing 37 European experts guided by the research question: What are the key perceived barriers and opportunities influencing the successful adoption and integration of hydrogen technologies in Germany’s hydrogen transition?

Electricity access deficits remain acute in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) where more than 600 million people lack reliable supply. Green hydrogen produced through renewablepowered electrolysis is increasingly recognized as a transformative energy carrier for decentralized systems due to its capacity for long-duration storage sector coupling and near-zero carbon emissions. This review adheres strictly to the PRISMA 2020 methodology examining 190 records and synthesizing 80 peer-reviewed articles and industry reports released from 2010 to 2025. The review covers hydrogen production processes hybrid renewable integration techno-economic analysis environmental compromises global feasibility and enabling policy incentives. The findings show that Alkaline (AEL) and PEM electrolyzers are immediately suitable for off-grid scenarios whereas Solid Oxide (SOEC) and Anion Exchange Membrane (AEM) electrolyzers present high potential for future deployment. For Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) the levelized costs of hydrogen (LCOH) are in the range of EUR5.0–7.7/kg. Nonetheless estimates from the learning curve indicate that these costs could fall to between EUR1.0 and EUR1.5 per kg by 2050 assuming there is (i) continued public support for the technology innovation (ii) appropriate flexible and predictable regulation (iii) increased demand for hydrogen and (iv) a stable and long-term policy framework. Environmental life-cycle assessments indicate that emissions are nearly zero but they also highlight serious concerns regarding freshwater usage land occupation and dependence on platinum group metals. Namibia South Africa and Kenya exhibit considerable promise in the early stages of development while Niger demonstrates the feasibility of deploying modular community-scale systems in challenging conditions. The study concludes that green hydrogen cannot be treated as an integrated solution but needs to be regarded as part of blended off-grid systems. To improve its role targeted material innovation blended finance and policies bridging export-oriented applications to community-scale access must be established. It will then be feasible to ensure that hydrogen

Emissions from fossil fuel extraction conveyance and combustion are among the most significant causes of air pollution and climate change leading to arguably the most acute crises mankind has ever faced. The transition from fossil fuel-based energy systems to hydrogen is essential for meeting a portion of global decarbonization goals. Hydrogen offers certain features such as high gravimetric energy density that is required for heavy-duty shipping and freight applications and chemical properties such as high temperature combustion and reducing capabilities that are required for steel chemicals and fertilizer industries. However hydrogen that leaks has indirect climate implications stemming from atmospheric interactions that are emerging as a critical area of research. This study reviews recent literature on hydrogen’s global warming potential (GWP) highlighting its indirect contributions to radiative forcing via methane’s extended atmospheric lifetime tropospheric ozone formation and stratospheric water vapor formation. The 100-year GWP (GWP100) of hydrogen estimated to range between 8 and 12.8 underscores the need to minimize leakage throughout the hydrogen supply chain to maximize the climate benefits of using hydrogen instead of fossil fuels. Comparisons with methane reveal hydrogen’s shorter atmospheric lifetime and reduced long-term warming effects establishing it as a viable substitute for fossil fuels in sectors such as steel cement and heavy-duty transport. The analysis emphasizes the importance of accurate leakage assessments robust policy frameworks and advanced infrastructure to ensure hydrogen realizes its potential as a sustainable energy carrier that displaces the use of fossil fuels. Future research is recommended to refine climate models better understand atmospheric sinks and hydrogen leakage phenomena and develop effective strategies to minimize hydrogen emissions paving the way for environmentally sound use of hydrogen.

Green hydrogen produced through renewable energy sources is emerging as a pivotal element in global energy transitions. Despite its potential public acceptance remains a critical barrier to its large-scale implementation. This study aims to identify the socio-political and demographic determinants of public acceptance of green hydrogen. Using advanced variable selection methods including ridge lasso and elastic net regression we analyzed perceptions of climate change trust in government policies and demographic characteristics. The findings reveal that individuals prioritizing climate change over economic growth perceiving its impacts as severe and recognizing it as South Korea’s most pressing issue are more likely to accept green hydrogen. Trust in the government’s climate change response also emerged as a key factor. Demographic characteristics such as younger age higher income advanced education smaller family size and conservative political ideology were significantly associated with greater acceptance. These results highlight the importance of raising public awareness about the urgency of climate change and enhancing trust in government policies to promote societal acceptance of green hydrogen. Policymakers should consider these factors when developing strategies to advance the adoption of green hydrogen technologies and foster sustainable energy transitions.

Within energy system analysis there is discourse regarding the role and economic benefits of nuclear energy in terms of overall system costs. The reported findings range from considerable drawbacks to substantial benefits depending on the chosen models scenarios and underlying assumptions. This article addresses existing gaps by demonstrating how subtle variations in model assumptions significantly impact analysis outcomes. Historically uncertainties associated with nuclear energy costs have been well documented whereas renewable energy costs have steadily declined and have been relatively predictable. However as land availability increasingly constrains future renewable expansion development is shifting from onshore to offshore locations where cost uncertainties are greater and anticipated cost reductions are less reliable. This study emphasizes this fundamental shift highlighting how uncertainties in future renewable energy costs could strengthen the economic case of nuclear energy within fully integrated sector-coupled energy systems especially when the costs of all technologies and weather conditions are set in the moderate range. Focusing specifically on Denmark this article presents a thorough sensitivity analysis of renewable energy costs and weather conditions within anticipated future ranges providing a nuanced perspective on the role of nuclear energy. Ultimately the findings underscore that when examining total annual system costs the differences between scenarios with low and high nuclear energy shares are minimal and are within ±5 % for the baseline assumptions while updated adjustments reduce this variation to ±1 %.

Achieving net-zero emissions requires major changes across a nation’s economy energy and land systems particularly due to sectors where emissions are difficult to eliminate. Here we adapt two global scenarios from the International Energy Agency—the net-zero emissions by 2050 and the Stated Policies Scenario—using an integrated numerical economic-energy model tailored to Australia. We explore how emissions may evolve by sector and identify key technologies for decarbonisation. Our results show that a rapid shift to near-zero emissions electricity is central to reducing costs and enabling wider emissions reductions. From 2030 onwards carbon removal through land management and engineered solutions such as direct air capture and bioenergy with carbon capture and storage becomes critical. Australia is also well-positioned to become a global supplier of clean energy such as hydrogen made using renewable electricity helping reduce emissions beyond its borders.

As the global push for carbon neutrality accelerates energy efficiency has become essential for sustainable development especially for nations like Nigeria that face rising energy demands and significant environmental challenges. This study explores how integrating energy efficiency with carbon neutrality can support Nigeria’s strategic energy goals while offering global lessons for other countries facing similar challenges focusing on key sectors including industry transport and power generation. The study systematically examines the impacts of renewable energy (RE) technologies like solar wind and hydropower—alongside policy reforms technological innovations and demand-side management strategies to advance energy efficiency in Nigeria. Key findings include the identification of strategic policy frameworks technological solutions and the transformative role of green hydrogen in decarbonizing hard-to-electrify sectors. The study also emphasizes the importance of international climate finance decentralized RE systems like solar mini-grids for improving energy access and economic opportunities for job creation in the RE sector. Furthermore it highlights the need for behavioral changes community engagement and consistent policy implementation to address infrastructure gaps and drive energy efficiency goals. The novelty of this research lies in its scenario-based analysis of Nigeria’s low-carbon transition detailing both the opportunities and challenges such as policy inconsistencies infrastructure deficits and financial constraints. The findings stress the importance of international collaboration technological advancements and targeted investments to overcome these challenges. By offering actionable insights and strategic recommendations this study provides a roadmap for policymakers industry stakeholders and researchers to drive Nigeria towards a sustainable carbon-neutral future by 2050.

Financial viability is fundamental for investment success however long run sustainable investment relies on delivering tangible socio-economic benefits that foster societal acceptance enhancing community welfare and well-being. This study developed a quantitative model to evaluate the socio-economic impact of a proposed 1 GW green and 2 GW blue hydrogen investment in Tees Valley UK from 2027 to 2035. We introduced the socioeconomic impact (SEI) ratio defined as the ratio of socio-economic impact to the Levelized Cost of Hydrogen (LCOH) to illustrate the significance of socio-economic impact beyond financial returns. Findings indicate that the cumulative environmental and economic impact of green hydrogen amounted to £1.5 ± 0.5 bn and £1.35 ± 0.27 bn respectively with an employment impact of £269 ± 28 mn. In contrast the proposed blue hydrogen investment is expected to deliver £2.9 ± 0.9 bn environmental impact £1.84 ± 0.37 bn economic impact and £212 ± 26 mn employment social impact. The SEI ratio of green hydrogen was found to range between 48 % and 62 % and 60 %–79 % for blue hydrogen suggesting overall SEI ratio of approximately 60 % for combined green and blue investment. Sensitivity analysis using Monte Carlo simulation revealed that the results are particularly sensitive to the Gross Value Added (GVA) emission and employment factors. These findings highlight the importance of integrating socio-economic considerations into hydrogen planning investment strategies and decision-making to optimise environmental societal and economic outcomes.

With the growing significance of hydrogen in the global energy transition research on its pricing mechanisms has become increasingly crucial. Focusing on hydrogen markets predominantly supplied by electrolytic production this study proposes a nodal marginal hydrogen price decomposition algorithm that explicitly incorporates the time-delay dynamics inherent in hydrogen transmission. A four-dimensional price formation framework is established comprising the energy component network loss component congestion component and time-delay component. To address the nonconvex optimization challenges arising in the market-clearing model an improved second-order cone programming method is introduced. This method effectively reduces computational complexity through the reconstruction of time-coupled constraints and reformulation of the Weymouth equation. On this basis the analytical expression of the nodal marginal hydrogen price is rigorously derived elucidating how transmission dynamics influence each price component. Empirical studies using a modified Belgian 20-node system demonstrate that the proposed pricing mechanism dynamically adapts to load variations with hydrogen prices exhibiting a strong correlation with electricity cost fluctuations. The results validate the efficacy and superiority of the proposed approach in hydrogen energy market applications. This study provides a theoretical foundation for designing efficient and transparent pricing mechanisms in emerging hydrogen markets.

The conventional electrolysis is recognized as a mature and promising hydrogen (H2) production technology but there is still a strong need for further performance improvement. In this regard achieving an effective H2 evolution reaction at the cathode requires costly catalysts such as platinum and various catalyst-modified electrode materials. Nevertheless these materials are expensive and involve complex production procedures. Due to an increasing interest in deploying biomaterial-based cathodes as potential alternatives to conventional cathode materials we make the focus of this study on such materials and a graphite-loaded bioelectrode is in this regard synthesized for electrolysis application for effective H2 production. The surface morphology and electrochemical activity of the produced biocathode are characterized. Our results show that the H2 production performance of the system improves with the increasing graphite dosage on the biocathode and with the applied voltage ranging from 2 to 6 V. At improved operating conditions the highest H2 production rate of 1000 ppm (8.18 mg/m3 min) is obtained using a 1.5 g graphite-loaded biocathode at an applied voltage of 6 V. Consequently the produced graphite-loaded biocathode can be a promising option for sustainable and effective H2 production with waste minimization owing to its high conductivity low-cost and good stability.

Energy transition is crucial for climate change mitigation and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and has been a key government focus in Colombia since 2022 which must carefully consider its energy roadmap. This study evaluates three potential scenarios for achieving nearly 100% renewable energy by 2035: replacing fossil fuels with biofuels using hydrogen for transport and industrial heat and relying entirely on renewable electricity. This paper discusses these scenarios’ technical economic and social challenges including the need for substantial investments in renewable energy technologies and energy storage systems to replace fossil fuels. The discussion highlights the importance of balancing energy security environmental concerns and economic growth while addressing social priorities such as poverty eradication and access to healthcare and education. The results show that while the Colombian government’s energy transition goals are commendable a rapid energy transition requires 4 to 8 times the government’s projected 34 billion USD investment making it economically unfeasible. Notably focusing on wind photovoltaic and green hydrogen systems which need storage is too costly. Furthermore replacing fossil fuels in transport is impractical though increasing biofuel production could partially substitute fossil fuels. Less energy-intensive alternatives like trains and waterway transport should be considered to reduce energy demand and carbon footprint.

Concerns about the competitiveness of European industry led to the publication of the Draghi report. One of his recommendations is to install regional green industrial clusters around energy-intensive companies. The report identifies three benefit categories each corresponding to typical industrial symbiosis cases: improved investment cases by shared local low-carbon energy generation improved investment cases by shared infrastructure and improved energy flows for increased resource efficiency. Industrial clusters hold untapped potential to advance the energy transition and climate neutrality. However it is still unknown how and if this potential will ever be reached nor how scalable and replicable the benefits will be. This review paper aims to take a first step in exploring the potential role of industrial clusters in the energy system by exposing the research state of the art in academic literature. A literature review is performed in line with the three benefit categories according to Draghi to understand the enablers and barriers of potential synergies and their impact on the energy system. Afterwards the scalability is assessed by positioning the European industrial clusters in the larger renewable energy landscape. To illustrate the global interest a brief reflection is made on references to industrial clusters in the policy of non-European regions. The work concludes with interesting leads for future research to further advance knowledge on the importance of industrial clusters in the energy system and to stimulate the implementation of energy synergies.