Policy & Socio-Economics

Located in the Arabian Gulf Kuwait is a renewable-abundant country ideal for producing hydrogen via solar energy (green hydrogen). With a global transition away from fossil fuels underway due to their adverse environmental impacts hydrogen is gaining significant traction as a promising clean energy alternative for the transport sector. Despite this there are still various challenges associated with implementing a hydrogen supply chain particularly with regard to the conflicting objectives of minimising cost environmental impact and risk. This study determines the feasibility of implementing a green hydrogen supply chain in Kuwait based on a multiobjective design to determine which combination of production (electrolysis type) storage method and transportation method is the most optimal for Kuwait. Three objective functions were considered in this study: the hydrogen supply chain cost environmental impact and safety/risk. A mathematical formulation based on mixed integer linear programming (MILP) was used involving a multi-criteria approach where the three considered objectives must be optimised simultaneously i.e. cost global warming potential and safety/risk. The multiobjective optimisation approach via the weighted sum method was applied in this study and solved via GAMS. To account for the ranking of multi-objective criteria a hybrid AHP-TOPSIS approach was used. Results showed that medium and high demand scenarios better reflect the comparative advantages of each considered method in terms of their multi-objective trade-offs. In particular it was found that higher hydrogen demand amplifies the impact of higher efficiency and operational savings within several production storage and transportation methods and that despite higher initial capital investments these costs are at some point offset by superior operational efficiency as hydrogen production volumes increase. Conversely using highly efficient electrolysers or transportation methods at low demand was found to limit their performance.

Hydrogen energy characterized by its abundant resources green and lowcarbon attributes and wide-ranging applications is a critical energy source for achieving carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals. The operational efficiency of the hydrogen energy industrial chain is pivotal in determining the security of its supply chain and its contribution to China’s energy transition. This study investigates the efficiency of China’s hydrogen energy industrial chain by selecting 30 listed companies primarily engaged in hydrogen energy as the research sample. A three-stage data envelopment analysis (DEA) model is applied to assess the industry’s comprehensive technical efficiency pure technical efficiency and scale efficiency. Additionally kernel density estimation is utilized to analyze efficiency trends over time. Key factors influencing efficiency are identified and targeted recommendations are provided to enhance the performance and sustainability of the hydrogen energy industrial chain. These findings offer valuable insights to support the development and resilience of China’s hydrogen energy industry

Hydrogen is gaining interest as a clean energy source from both governments and fossil fuel companies. For hydrogen projects to succeed securing public acceptability is crucial with trust in the implementing actors playing a central role. Drawing from reputation management and attribution theory we experimentally evaluated whether people’s perceptions of energy companies wanting to start producing hydrogen for sustainability reasons differ based on two features of hydrogen production. Specifically we examined the influence of (1) the type of hydrogen (blue versus green) and (2) the energy company’s history in energy production (fossil fuels versus renewables) on perceptions about the companies’ reputation management efforts —that is the belief that companies adopt hydrogen primarily to improve their public image— as well as on levels of trust both overall and specifically in terms of integrity and competence. We further explored whether perceived reputation management explains the effects on trust and whether these factors also shape public acceptability of hydrogen production itself. Results indicated that people perceived the company with a history of working with fossil fuels as trying to improve its reputation more than one associated with renewables and trusted it less. Furthermore perceived reputation management explained the lower (general and integrity-based) trust people had in companies with a past in fossil fuels. For public acceptability of hydrogen the company’s history was not relevant with green hydrogen being more acceptable than blue regardless of which company produced it. We discuss these findings in relation to the literature on public perceptions of hydrogen.

Green hydrogen is a promising energy vector for replacing fossil fuels in hard-to-abate sectors but its cost hinders widespread deployment. This research develops an exact MILP model to optimize the design of integrated green energy projects minimizing the total annual cost between different power configurations. The model is applied to a case study in regional Victoria Australia which supports a fleet of nine fuel cell electric buses requiring 1160 kg of hydrogen per week. The optimal system includes a 453 kW electrolyzer 212 kg of storage in compressed hydrogen vessels 704 kW of solar PV and 635 kW of wind power firmed with grid electricity. The LCOH is 14.8 A$/kg which is higher than other estimates in the literature for Australia. This is arguably due to the idle capacities resulting from intermittent hydrogen demand. Producing additional hydrogen with surplus or low-priced electricity could reduce LCOH to 12.4 A$/kg. Sensitivity analyzes confirm the robustness of the system to variations in key parameter costs resource availability and estimated energy supply and demand.

Hydrogen has emerged as a pivotal energy carrier in the global transition toward sustainable energy systems. This study analyses current trends sectoral dynamics and future demand projections for hydrogen employing a multi-methodological framework that integrates Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) extrapolation scenario-based modeling and regional comparative analysis. By leveraging historical growth patterns of geothermal bioenergy and wind energy sectors in the European Union (EU) three hydrogen demand scenarios—Conservative (3.25 % CAGR) Moderate (8.33 % CAGR) and Optimistic (15.42 % CAGR)—are projected to 2050. Results indicate that global hydrogen demand could range from 18.8 to 381.3 million tonnes per year by 2050 depending on technological advancements policy frameworks and infrastructure investments. The transportation and industrial sectors are identified as critical drivers while regional disparities highlight leadership from the EU the U.S. and Asia-Pacific nations. The study underscores the necessity of coordinated policy cost reduction in green hydrogen production and infrastructure scalability to realize hydrogen’s potential in decarbonizing energy systems.

Indonesia’s energy sector faces critical challenges due to its heavy reliance on coal as the dominant power source which contributes to environmental degradation and rising CO2 emissions resulting into transition needs for renewable energy as targeted inside Nationally Determined Contribution (NDCs) 2060. In addition to these hydrogen energy also shows great potential for Indonesia’s energy needs. However to date there are no extensive research in Indonesia that simulate the effect of hydrogen incorporation and coal phase-out policy for 2050 power generation system making this research a critical contribution to the exploration of Indonesia's energy landscape. This study utilizes the Low Emissions Analysis Platform (LEAP). There are four simulated power generation scenarios in this study: the business-as-usual (BAU) scenario the hydrogen incorporation (HYD) scenario the coal phase-out (CPO) scenario and the progressive (PRO) scenario. The analysis indicates that the BAU scenario emerges as the most cost-effective approach for meeting Indonesia’s future electricity demand. However due to its inability to fulfill NDCs the CPO scenario is shown to be more viable from practical and cost perspectives requiring 406.9 GW capacity and USD 114.6 billion investment. On the contrary The HYD scenario largely aligns Indonesia’s hydrogen target potentially contributing 1-5% of energy demand and reducing coal reliance. Additionally while the PRO scenario has the highest investment cost (USD 151.4 billion) it also provides the lowest plant capacities (367.1 GW) offering the highest outputto-capacity ratio. The result suggests the necessity to enact government collaboration and construct feasibility analysis to implement renewable energy development.

Green hydrogen is critical for decarbonizing hard-to-electrify sectors but it faces high costs and investment risks. Here we defne and quantify the green hydrogen ambition and implementation gap showing that meeting hydrogen expectations will remain challenging despite surging announcements of projects and subsidies. Tracking 190 projects over 3 years we identify a wide 2023 implementation gap with only 7% of global capacity announcements fnished on schedule. In contrast the 2030 ambition gap towards 1.5 °C scenarios has been gradually closing as the announced project pipeline has nearly tripled to 422 GW within 3 years. However we estimate that without carbon pricing realizing all these projects would require global subsidies of US$1.3 trillion (US$0.8–2.6 trillion range) far exceeding announced subsidies. Given past and future implementation gaps policymakers must prepare for prolonged green hydrogen scarcity. Policy support needs to secure hydrogen investments but should focus on applications where hydrogen is indispensable.

Green hydrogen could contribute to climate change mitigation but its greenhouse gas footprint varies with electricity source and allocation choices. Using life-cycle assessment we conclude that if electricity comes from additional renewable capacity green hydrogen outperforms fossil-based hydrogen. In the short run alternative uses of renewable electricity likely achieve greater emission reductions.

In the wake of unprecedented global weather events and the ever-pressing urgency of climate change the discourse around energy transition has become more critical than ever.<br/>The United Kingdom once at the forefront of the energy transition movement finds itself at a crossroads. The initial rapid progress towards a low-carbon future is now facing hurdles threatening the achievement of the 'net zero by 2050' target.<br/>This revelation comes from the third edition of our UK Energy Transition Outlook (ETO) which leverages an independent model incorporating the UK's energy system's extensive connections with Europe and beyond.<br/>This report has a comprehensive analysis of:<br/>♦ Renewable energy technology scaling and costs<br/>♦ The continuing dependence on fossil fuel and need to decarbonize<br/>♦ Energy demand by sector and source<br/>♦ Energy efficiency<br/>♦ Energy supply<br/>♦ Electricity and infrastructure<br/>♦ Hydrogen<br/>♦ Energy expenditure<br/>♦ Policies driving the transition<br/>♦ Digitalization.

The hydrogen economy stands at the forefront of the global energy transition and additive manufacturing (AM) is increasingly recognized as a critical enabler of this transformation. AM offers unique capabilities for improving the performance and durability of hydrogen energy components through rapid prototyping topology optimization functional integration of cooling channels and the fabrication of intricate hierarchical structured pores with precisely controlled connectivity. These features facilitate efficient heat and mass transfer thereby improving hydrogen production storage and utilization efficiency. Furthermore AM’s multi-material and functionally graded printing capability holds promise for producing components with tailored properties to mitigate hydrogen embrittlement significantly extending operational lifespan. Collectively these advances suggest that AM could lower manufacturing costs for hydrogen-related systems while improving performance and reliability. However the current literature provides limited evidence on the integrated techno-economic advantages of AM in hydrogen applications posing a significant barrier to large-scale industrial adoption. At present the technological readiness level (TRL) of AM-based hydrogen components is estimated to be 4–5 reflecting laboratory-scale progress but underscoring the need for further development validation and industrial-scale demonstration before commercialization can be realized.