Policy & Socio-Economics

The hydrogen energy industry as one of the most important directions for future energy transformation can promote the sustainable development of the global economy and of society. China has raised the development of hydrogen energy to a strategic position. Based on the patent data in the past two decades this study investigates the collaborative innovation relationships in China’s hydrogen energy field using complex network theory. Firstly patent data filed between 2003 and 2023 are analyzed and compared in terms of time geography and institutional and technological dimensions. Subsequently a patent collaborative innovation network is constructed to explore the fundamental characteristics and evolutionary patterns over five stages. Furthermore centrality measures and community detection algorithms are utilized to identify core entities and innovation alliances within the network which reveal that China’s hydrogen energy industry is drifting toward alliance innovation. The study results show the following: (1) the network has grown rapidly in size and scope over the last two decades and evolved from the initial stage to the multi-center stage before forming innovation alliances; (2) core innovative entities are important supports and bridges for China’s hydrogen energy industry and control most resources and maintain the robustness of the whole network; (3) innovation alliances reveal the closeness of the collaborative relationships between innovative entities and the potential landscape of China’s hydrogen energy industry; and (4) most of the innovation alliances cooperate only on a narrow range of technologies which may hinder the overall sustainable growth of the hydrogen energy industry. Thereafter some suggestions are put forward from the perspective of an industrial chain and innovation chain which may provide a theoretical reference for collaborative innovation and the future development and planning in the field of hydrogen energy in China.

Climate change and energy crises push Europe to accelerate the energy-industry transition towards higher shares of renewable energy and a more efficient integrated electricity-based energy-industry system. The study examines transition scenarios ranging from carbon neutrality reached in 2050 to highest ambitions with 100% renewable electricity supply reached by 2030 and an overall carbon-neutral energy-industry system by 2035. The fastest transition coincidences with higher cost but still with an acceptable tolerance. Reaching carbon neutrality by 2040 allows for a substantial reduction in CO2 emissions and energy costs are lower compared to the fastest transition. Allowing e-fuel imports substantially reduces the energy cost in Europe compared to complete energy sovereignty with an optimal import share at only 7% of primary energy demand. Reaching an affordable energy supply requires close cooperation of European countries to exploit the best renewable resources and all sources of energy system flexibility to enable a low-cost energy supply.

The global need for energy has risen sharply recently. A global shift to clean energy is urgently needed to avoid catastrophic climate impacts. Hydrogen (H2) has emerged as a potential alternative energy source with near-net-zero emissions. In the African continent for sustainable access to clean energy and the transition away from fossil fuels this paper presents a new approach through which waste energy can produce green hydrogen from biomass. Bio-based hydrogen employing organic waste and biomass is recommended using biological (anaerobic digestion and fermentation) processes for scalable cheaper and low-carbon hydrogen. By reviewing all methods for producing green hydrogen dark fermentation can be applied in developed and developing countries without putting pressure on natural resources such as freshwater and rare metals the primary feedstocks used in producing green hydrogen by electrolysis. It can be expanded to produce medium- and long-term green hydrogen without relying heavily on energy sources or building expensive infrastructure. Implementing the dark fermentation process can support poor communities in producing green hydrogen as an energy source regardless of political and tribal conflicts unlike other methods that require political stability. In addition this approach does not require the approval of new legislation. Such processes can ensure the minimization of waste and greenhouse gases. To achieve cost reduction in hydrogen production by 2030 governments should develop a strategy to expand the use of dark fermentation reactors and utilize hot water from various industrial processes (waste energy recovery from hot wastewater).

This report investigates the status and trend of Renewable Fuels of Non-Biological Origin (RFNBO) except hydrogen which are needed to cover part of the EU’s demand for low carbon renewable fuels in the coming years. The report is an update of the CETO 2023 report. Most of the conversion technologies investigated have been already demonstrated at small-scale and the current EU legislative framework under the recast of the Renewable Energy Directive (EU) 2018/2001 (Directive EU 2023/2413) sets specific targets for their use. As a pre-requisite well-established solid hydrogen supply chains are needed together with carbon capture technologies to provide carbon dioxide as Carbon Capture and Use (CCU). Fuels that may be produced starting from H2 and CO2 or N2 are hydrocarbons alcohols and ammonia. RFNBO may play a crucial role in the energytransition towards decarbonisation especially in hard-to-abate sectors where direct electrification is not possible. In addition most RFNBO can use existing infrastructure. The growing interest in these fuels is witnessed by the many funding programmes which are today available. Moreover EU leads the sector in terms of patents companies and demonstration activities. Finally the report considers the major challenges and the opportunities for a rapid market uptake of such fuels.

Photovoltaic (PV) system grid integration is becoming more global to minimize carbon emissions from traditional power systems.However alternative solution investigation for maximum technical and economic benefits is often neglected when integrating PVsystems. This study utilizes a methodology for evaluating the lifecycle energy generation and levelized cost of energy (LCOE) ofPV systems with various configurations using a holistic approach that considers PV system expenditures from installation to theend-of-life PV system operation. In addition this work focuses on finding a better configuration with different PV modules(monofacial or bifacial) and structure types (mounted or single-axis) for three different utility scale PV sizes (300 kW 500 kWand 1000 kW) in Abu Dhabi UAE with the maximum power generation and minimal energy losses. Furthermore the bestsuitable configuration was identified to be the configuration with a single-axis tracking structure and bifacial PV modulesbased on their technical and economic performance for the location with two different surface albedo 0.2 and 0.8. We alsostudy the PV system’s connection in a standalone off-grid solar-electrolyzer combination to produce green hydrogen. Levelizedcost of electricity (LCOE) and levelized cost of hydrogen production (LCOH) are calculated and results show that such PVsystems can be used to generate electricity and produce hydrogen at competitive costs that can reach as low as 2.1 cent/kWhand $2.53/kg-H2 for LCOE and LCOH respectively. Such a low cost is very competitive and can be used to attract newinvestments in green hydrogen technology in the United Arab Emirates.

This report is an output of the Clean Energy Technology Observatory (CETO). CETO's objective is to provide an evidence-based analysis feeding the policy making process and hence increasing the effectiveness of R&I policies for clean energy technologies and solutions. It monitors EU research and innovation activities on clean energy technologies needed for the delivery of the European Green Deal; and assesses the competitiveness of the EU clean energy sector and its positioning in the global energy market. CETO is being implemented by the Joint Research Centre for DG Research and Innovation in coordination with DG Energy.

Green hydrogen obtained from renewable electricity can play an essential role in the decarbonization of different sectors. The reliability of the data used to model the entire supply chain is a crucial parameter in Life Cycle Assessment. In this study the authors show how photovoltaic and wind electricity supply chains influence the carbon footprint of green H2. While most published studies rely on default datasets from commercial libraries the current work exploits the actual supply chain of the PV panels and builds an updated average European wind turbine supply chain. The updated values for PV-based H2 experiencing a 40–60% reduction are 2.7 and 1.8 kg CO2 eq./kg H2 for the UK and Italy. The carbon footprint of UK offshore wind-based H2 can be reduced up to 24% and get close to 0.6 kg CO2 eq./kg H2. The findings emphasize the sensitivity of the final climate profile generated by the processes upstream of the electrolysis system.

We analyze barriers to setting up a hydrogen market by using a PESTEL framework that examines political economic social technological environmental and legal barriers. This framework is advantageous for analyzing macro-environmental factors to understand potential challenges and opportunities in creating such a market. Internationally the framework was applied to analyzing barriers in 56 national hydrogen roadmaps and domestically in the U.S. to semi-structured interviews with 43 stakeholders involved with hydrogen projects across the U.S. today. In the country-level international analysis infrastructure development was the most identified barrier with 43 countries including this factor. Infrastructure development included infrastructure for hydrogen storage transportation and distribution and frequently alluded not only to the need for the infra structure but also the costs associated. The second most identified barrier was related to the need for market development - including but not limited to capital costs economic competition supply and demand matching and first-mover reticence. For the domestic analysis results from qualitative content analysis confirmed considerable variability across regions and stakeholder backgrounds. Particularly notable were divergent views about the importance of public understanding of and support for hydrogen projects with industry respondents arguing this was not important and government and academic respondents considering it very important. The barriers seen as having the largest impact on deployment of hydrogen projects was a lack of regulatory clarity and lack of decision makers’ knowledge and awareness. Domestically the most often introduced barriers were the need for the support of market demand and the need to develop a hydrogen workforce.

The influence of mobility modes within Positive Energy Districts (PEDs) has gained limited attention despite their crucial role in reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Buildings in the European Union (EU) account for 40% of energy consumption and 36% of greenhouse gas emissions. In comparison transport contributes 28% of energy use and 25% of emissions with road transport responsible for 72% of these emissions. This study aims to design and optimize a synthetic PED in Istanbul that integrates renewable energy sources and public mobility systems to address these challenges. The renewable energy sources integrated into the synthetic PED model include solar energy hydrogen energy and regenerative braking energy from a tram system. Solar panels provided a substantial portion of the energy while hydrogen energy contributed to additional electricity generation. Regenerative braking energy from the tram system was also utilized to further optimize energy production within the district. This system powers a middle school 10 houses a supermarket and the tram itself. Optimization techniques including Linear Programming (LP) for economic purposes and the Weighted Sum Method (WSM) for environmental goals were applied to balance cost and CO2 emissions. The LP method identified that the PED model can achieve cost competitiveness with conventional energy grids when hydrogen costs are below $93.16/MWh. Meanwhile the WSM approach demonstrated that achieving a minimal CO2 emission level of 5.74 tons requires hydrogen costs to be $32.55/MWh or lower. Compared to a conventional grid producing 97 tons of CO2 annually the PED model achieved reductions of up to 91.26 tons. This study contributes to the ongoing discourse on sustainable urban energy systems by addressing key research gaps related to the integration of mobility modes within PEDs and offering insights into the optimization of renewable energy sources for reducing emissions and energy consumption.

Low carbon hydrogen is essential to achieve the Government’s Clean Energy Superpower and Growth Missions. It will be a crucial enabler of a low carbon and renewables-based energy system and will help to deliver new clean energy industries which can support good jobs in our industrial heartlands and coastal communities. Hydrogen presents significant growth and economic opportunities across the UK by enhancing our energy security providing flexible cleaner energy for our power system and helping to decarbonise vital UK industries. Hydrogen has a critical role in helping to achieve our Clean Energy Superpower Mission. It can provide flexible low carbon power generation meaning we can use hydrogen to produce electricity during extended periods of low renewable output. Hydrogen can also provide interseasonal energy storage through conversion of electricity into hydrogen and then back into electricity at times of need using a combination of hydrogen production storage and hydrogen to power. To advance our Clean Energy and Growth Missions hydrogen also has a unique role in transitioning crucial UK industries away from oil and gas and towards a clean homegrown source of fuel. Hydrogen can decarbonise hard-to-abate sectors like chemicals and heavy transport complementing our wider electrification efforts and accelerating our progress to net zero. Using our strong domestic expertise and favourable geology geography and infrastructure backing UK hydrogen can unlock significant economic opportunities and new low carbon jobs of the future. Government has an ambitious range of policies in place to incentivise and support industry to invest in low carbon hydrogen. The recent Hydrogen Skills Workforce Assessment an industry-led study undertaken by the Hydrogen Skills Alliance estimated that the UK hydrogen economy could support 29000 direct jobs and 64500 indirect jobs by 2030. Since establishing in Summer 2024 this Government has already made significant progress in delivering the UK hydrogen economy. This includes confirming support for the 11 successful Hydrogen Allocation Round 1 projects announcing up to £21.7 billion of available funding to launch the UK’s new carbon capture utilisation and storage industry and publishing our hydrogen to power consultation response with an aim to establish a new hydrogen to power business model. We have also launched three new bodies – the National Energy System Operator Great British Energy and the National Wealth Fund – which will help to deliver a world-class energy system including for low carbon hydrogen. This December 2024 Hydrogen Strategy Update to the Market sets out the key milestones achieved by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero in 2024 to deliver the hydrogen economy and an ambitious forward look at our next steps and upcoming opportunities. To achieve net zero and create a thriving and resilient energy landscape we are already working at considerable pace to deliver a world-leading UK hydrogen sector.