Policy & Socio-Economics

Seawater electrolysis is a promising approach for sustainable hydrogen production that could alleviate the ever-growing demand for freshwater resources. This literature review synthesizes current research on direct seawater electrolysis drawing attention to advances in electrode materials catalyst efficiency and system design. Furthermore an overview of indirect seawater electrolysis is given as a benchmark. Key challenges including electrode corrosion chlorine evolution and energy efficiency are critically analysed. Recent innovations in selective catalysts and membrane technologies are discussed as potential solutions for such challenges. The review also evaluates the economic feasibility of direct seawater electrolysis compared with the established traditional electrolysis using desalinated water. There is currently no research or industrial project demonstrating clear benefits of using direct seawater electrolysis over indirect seawater electrolysis. Our findings however do suggest that direct seawater electrolysis can become a viable component of the hydrogen economy for specific target applications.

Sweden with its abundant access to low-cost fossil-free electricity is well-positioned to become a significant hydrogen exporter. This study presents a techno-economic analysis of different hydrogen carriers—compressed hydrogen methanol ammonia and liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHC)—for export applications. Using the Northern Green Crane Project as a reference for scale the analysis focuses on cost optimization for hydrogen production storage and transportation. A linear programming model is developed to optimize capacities and operational strategies for each carrier ensuring a fair basis for comparison. Results indicate that LOHC and ammonia are competitive with compressed hydrogen showing particular promise for larger-scale long-distance deliveries. These findings offer valuable insights for policymakers and industry stakeholders developing Sweden’s hydrogen export strategies.

As global demand for green hydrogen rises potential hydrogen exporters move into the spotlight. While exports can bring countries revenue large-scale on-grid hydrogen electrolysis for export can profoundly impact domestic energy prices and energy-related emissions. Our investigation explores the interplay of hydrogen exports domestic energy transition and temporal hydrogen regulation employing a sector-coupled energy model in Morocco. We find substantial co-benefits of domestic carbon dioxide mitigation and hydrogen exports whereby exports can reduce market-based costs for domestic electricity consumers while mitigation reduces costs for hydrogen exporters. However increasing hydrogen exports in a fossil-dominated system can substantially raise market-based costs for domestic electricity consumers but surprisingly temporal matching of hydrogen production can lower these costs by up to 31% with minimal impact on exporters. Here we show that this policy instrument can steer the welfare (re-)distribution between hydrogen exporting firms hydrogen importers and domestic electricity consumers and hereby increases acceptance among actors.

Low carbon hydrogen has a fundamental role to play in not one but two of the UK Government’s core missions. First it can help grow the economy - with thousands of new jobs and opportunities breathing new life into our industrial heartlands. Second it can help the UK become a clean energy superpower by using clean secure energy that we control. Third it can future-proof the UK’s foundational industries delivering decarbonisation and energy security to the hard-to-abate sectors which underpin the UK economy. Hydrogen developers across our membership report growing interest from customers in a wide range of sectors. Whilst current government policy has helped start the hydrogen economy industry wants this to accelerate and become more holistic so that interest is translated into demand allowing the sector to fully develop and the UK to meet its decarbonisation targets. With growing international competition the UK Government should prioritise the growth of hydrogen technology implementation leveraging the nation’s natural geological and geographical advantages. Although £20 billion in private capital investment is estimated to be ready to support the UK Government’s hydrogen ambitions persistent delays and market uncertainty risk this funding being lost to other markets. This report outlines the importance of Driving Demand for offtakers complementing the strong market foundation built from Government’s early hydrogen production focus. For effective policy implementation industry stakeholders have highlighted the importance of finding balance: retaining low-carbon technology optionality alongside certainty and support for investment with the adoption of a clear ‘vision’ and ‘market creation’ supported by a tailored mix of ‘carrots and sticks’ to support the market. From the research conducted by HUK it is clear that the choice of decarbonisation options is not done on a sector-by-sector basis that even within companies the decision-making process is site-by-site. This reflects the sensitivity of numerous factors that will ultimately determine the best solution for their site and re-enforces the view that customers must be allowed the choice of decarbonisation options. Hydrogen will play a significant role in decarbonising some of the hardest to abate sectors of the UK economy complimenting the role of electrification CCUS and other decarbonisation technologies. These sectors represent the hardest and therefore most expensive to decarbonise. However hydrogen also provides an opportunity to deliver significant economic growth through a thriving domestic supply chain and so a holistic approach should be applied.

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The decarbonization of energy systems poses significant challenges to energy networks due to the introduction of new energy vectors and changes in the pattern of energy demand. However this is currently an under-researched area. This paper addresses a gap in the literature by drawing on the socio-technological transitions and multi-system interactions literature to explore the views of experts from industry academia and other sectors about the challenges facing UK energy networks and the possible solutions including taking a more wholistic approach to the planning and operation of dierent networks. Using these frameworks we have demonstrated that systems can be deliberately integrated to interact and solve particular system challenges and have identified the nature of these interactions. The empirical results identify areas of consensus and disagreement about the future development of network infrastructure and regulation. They also highlight how government policy responds to the challenges and opportunities presented by the UK climate targets. The findings show widespread agreement that the UK energy system will become more electrified and decentralized as it incorporates more renewable energy. However the role of gaseous fuels in the energy system is more uncertain with some experts seeing a move from natural gas to hydrogen as being key to maintaining the security of supply while others see little or no role for hydrogen. There is also widespread agreement that the regulatory structure should change to address the challenges facing energy networks with much less agreement on whether this could happen quickly enough. Recent developments indicate the UK Government recognizes the need for regulatory change but it is premature to foresee their success in helping networks be a driver of rather than a barrier to a net-zero energy system.

The ongoing global energy transition spurred by ecological concerns and by evolving political dynamics is necessitating a significant expansion of renewable energy sources. This shift towards renewables is introducing the challenge of heightened energy supply volatility and it underscores the imperative for large-scale storage solutions in order to mitigate fluctuations in demand and supply. This study investigates the potential of Power-to-X (P2X) technologies to address this challenge and it evaluates their technical and socioeconomic implications. Using scenario simulations that leverage the maximum estimated potentials of renewable energy sources relative to demand profiles across different countries we explore the role of P2X integration in the enhancement of energy production. Our analysis highlights the pivotal role of hydrogen in the decarbonization of key industrial sectors such as steel production and heavyduty transportation in the near term. For Germany we observe a reduction in CO2 emissions from 306.26 Mt to 232.28 Mt (-24.15%) and an increase in energy independence as measured by the reduction in primary energy imports from 1150.37 TWh to 887.86 TWh (-22.82%) when comparing the baseline scenario to the most socio-economically favorable scenario. France demonstrates even greater reductions with CO2 emissions decreasing by 37.69% and primary energy imports by 40.46%. Portugal achieves similar reductions with CO2 emissions falling by 38.71% and primary energy imports by 41.81%. However none of the three countries investigated in this study (Germany France and Portugal) achieve full decarbonization and energy independence simultaneously since their respective potential for renewable energy is not sufficiently large. Drawing from these insights and accounting for the unique contexts of each of the three countries we offer tailored policy recommendations for optimizing P2X utilization and enhancing energy production efficiency.

This study explores the feasibility parameters of a potential investment plan for injecting “green” hydrogen into the existing natural gas supply network in Greece. To this end a preliminary profitability optimization analysis was conducted through key performance indicators such as the cost of hydrogen and the socio-environmental benefit of carbon savings followed by break-even and sensitivity analyses. The identification of the major impact drivers of the assessment was based on the examination of a set of operational scenarios of varying hydrogen and natural gas flow rates. The results show that high natural gas capacities with a 5% hydrogen content by volume are the optimal case in terms of socio-economic viability but the overall profitability is too sensitive to hydrogen pricing rendering it unfeasible without additional motives measures and pricing strategies. The results feed into the main challenge of implementing commercial “green” hydrogen infrastructures in the market in a sustainable and feasible manner.

The increasing demand for carbon-free energy in recent years has positioned hydrogen as a viable option. However its current production remains largely dependent on carbon-emitting sources. In this context natural hydrogen generated through geological processes in the Earth’s subsurface has emerged as a promising alternative. The present study provides the first national-scale assessment of natural dihydrogen (H2) potential in Uruguay by developing a catalog of potential H2-generating rocks identifying prospective exploration areas and proposing H2 systems there. The analysis includes a review of geological and geophysical data from basement rocks and onshore sedimentary basins. Uruguay stands out as a promising region for natural H2 exploration due to the significant presence of potential H2-generating rocks in its basement such as large iron formations (BIFs) radioactive rocks and basic and ultrabasic rocks. Additionally the Norte Basin exhibits potential efficient cap rocks including basalts and dolerites with geological analogies to the Mali field. Indirect evidence of H2 in a free gas phase has been observed in the western Norte Basin. This suggests the presence of a potential H2 system in this area linked to the Arapey Formation basalts (seal) and Mesozoic sandstones (reservoir). Furthermore the proposed H2 system could expand exploration opportunities in northeastern Argentina and southern Brazil given the potential presence of similar play/tramp.

Transitioning from fossil fuels to renewable energies is imperative for Germany to reduce CO2 emissions and achieve greenhouse gas neutrality by 2045. Green hydrogen holds great potential to contribute to this energy transition by enabling the storage of surplus renewable energy. However Germany's green hydrogen production industry is still in its infancy with only a few green hydrogen plants existing. Studies examining the public's acceptance of green hydrogen production are scarce in this context. Still high societal acceptance can contribute to the future expansion of green hydrogen production in Germany in terms of speed and volume. Therefore our study aims to identify significant factors influencing the German population's acceptance of green hydrogen production within various acceptance groups with differing preferences for future green hydrogen production systems. We conducted an online survey (n=1203) in Germany in 2022/2023 incorporating a choice experiment. Through subsequent latent class analysis four acceptance groups with distinct preferences regarding local green hydrogen production were identified: Unconvinced citizens Security-conscious citizens Regional electricity consumers and Financial beneficiaries. A discriminant analysis identified 9 out of 11 factors as significant for distinguishing between these acceptance groups regarding their preferences for local green hydrogen production: trust in plant safety trust in project managers risk/benefit perception environmental self-identity negative attitude towards renewable energies positive attitude towards renewable energies emotions age and gender. However no significant effects were observed for experience with green hydrogen and distance to the place of residence. Based on our results it is recommended that required renewable energy for green hydrogen production should be produced as close to the green hydrogen plants as possible. It must be ensured and communicated to the public that the (planned) green hydrogen plants meet high safety standards and pose a very low risk of fire or explosion. The neighbouring population should also benefit through annual heating cost savings and financial participation. Implementing these measures can increase acceptance of local green hydrogen production facilitating the transition towards a more sustainable energy future in Germany and beyond.

Under the constraints of the “dual carbon” goals accurately depicting the full life cycle carbon footprint of green hydrogen and its derivatives and quantifying the potential for emission reduction is a prerequisite for hydrogen energy policy and investment decisions. This paper constructs a unified life cycle model covering the entire process from “wind and solar power generation–electrolysis of water to producing hydrogen-synthesis of methanol/ammonia-terminal transportation” and includes the manufacturing stage of key front-end equipment and the negative carbon effect of CO2 capture within a single system boundary and also presents an empirical analysis. The results show that the full life cycle carbon emissions of wind power hydrogen production and photovoltaic hydrogen production are 1.43 kgCO2/kgH2 and 3.17 kgCO2/kgH2 respectively both lower than the 4.9 kg threshold for renewable hydrogen in China. Green hydrogen synthesis of methanol achieves a net negative emission of −0.83 kgCO2/kgCH3OH and the emission of green hydrogen synthesis of ammonia is 0.57 kgCO2/kgNH3. At the same time it is predicted that green hydrogen green ammonia and green methanol can contribute approximately 1766 66.62 and 30 million tons of CO2 emission reduction respectively by 2060 providing a quantitative basis for the large-scale layout and policy formulation of the hydrogen energy industry.