Socio-economic aspects and implementation of hydrogen

How is hydrogen’s role within the energy system evolving, factoring in policy measures, technology, economies of scale, as well as trends in consumer and investment behaviour? And how does this compare to other sustainability strategies, and to competition and collaboration with other countries? This can be clarified through socio-technical system modelling. These systems cover aspects such as cost trends, displacement effects, regulation and market design, and life cycle analysis.

What do we hope to achieve?

Certain key criteria must be met to ensure the success of the hydrogen value chain, which includes production, transport, storage, conversion, and use. A solid business case is needed, one that is tailored to suit a market concept for the energy sector. Otherwise, there must be sufficient alternative incentives in place to prompt investors to back hydrogen. Legislation and regulations must also establish well-defined legal frameworks to facilitate ongoing market development. Furthermore, gaining broad public support is key to ensuring there is no opposition to the development of hydrogen.

For this reason, it is essential to thoroughly analyse these aspects across the value chain from the outset, to safeguard support for technological progress. The purpose of this theme is:

• To develop a vision for a comprehensive transition of the potential and to optimise the role of hydrogen within the future energy system across a range of geographical scales (North Sea region, Europe, international) and markets (such as industry, the built environment, and logistics).
• To analyse and optimise the business case for introducing hydrogen (grey, blue, and green) at various levels of aggregation.
• To identify and analyse the legal and regulatory aspects of hydrogen introduction, including legal barriers as well as legal and regulatory frameworks (at national, European and UN levels).
• To identify the key drivers of public acceptance during the rollout of hydrogen.

How do we intend to achieve that?

We will achieve that by:

• Developing models, using an interconnected multi-scale approach to ultimately quantify hydrogen’s role (production, application, and transport) within the broader energy system.
• Developing the business case.
• Identification plus a legal and regulatory framework.
• Identification of public acceptance.

Facilitating the green hydrogen transition requires us to focus on the socio-economic aspects as well. Watch this video clip to learn how we engage with various stakeholders in workshops, tackling recommendations and research, to secure the successful rollout of green hydrogen systems.