Prospects of hydrogen technologies application in the economic sectors: Priorities of the state and business
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21638/spbu05.2024.302Abstract
Discussions around the application of hydrogen technologies in various economic sectors (as part of the green agenda) contributed to the release of various hydrogen national initiatives. By the end of 2023, 41 governments have already adopted hydrogen strategies. However, hydrogen technologies are not mature for widespread adoption due to technological barriers associated with the production, storage, and transportation of hydrogen. National governments and private companies invest significant funds in research and development in order to overcome them. The purpose of this study is to assess current level of hydrogen technologies’ development on the basis of index and other methods to identify the most promising fields of application. Statistical and analytical materials devoted to the development of hydrogen solutions were exploited: patent and project activity of private sector, STI policy of net-energy importers — Germany and South Korea as the example. An analysis of the hydrogen strategies and the activities of corporations in selected countries revealed that the fuel cell automotive sector and traditional use of hydrogen (production of ammonia and methanol in the chemical industry) are among the key areas of application of the studied technologies. Hydrogen can also be adopted in the electric power industry, etc. Governments that support hydrogen technologies seek to expand the range of its applications by attracting investments from multinational corporations from those sectors where hydrogen is already embedded in the chain of production.
Keywords:
hydrogen technologies, hydrogen energy, energy importers, hydrogen infrastructure, value chains, hydrogen color spectrum, hydrogen policy, hydrogen projects and investments, hydrogen technology application index.
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