Policy & Socio-Economics

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