Drivers and Barriers in Hydrogen Investment Decisions: The Role of Policy Communication

The use of hydrogen as an energy carrier can decrease the dependence on fossil fuels and thereby be an important step towards net zero. A full-scale implementation is dependent on the development of new technologies and the adaptation of existing ones. The European Union (EU) and governments have launched ambitious hydrogen strategies but are dependent on the industry to develop, test, and implement technologies. At the same time, the industrial willingness to invest in research and development activities varies. Several energy companies are stalling their hydrogen activities, and it is important to examine the reasons for these decisions. In this article, we are concerned with how policymakers communicate with industrial actors about hydrogen opportunities and framework conditions, and how investment decisions can be affected by it. The purpose is to enable the study of drivers and barriers for investments in green hydrogen. The primary focus is on the communication between supranational organizations and national governments on one side and the industry on the other, and how it subsequently affects industrial investments in hydrogen energy. We present results from a literature search that aim to identify aspects relevant for future empirical studies of drivers and barriers. In the article, we identify aspects that can influence investment decisions and give recommendations for collection and analysis of empirical data to enable a more thorough understanding of how hydrogen investments are affected by policy communication from both the EU and national governments.

Keywords: Policy communication, hydrogen investment, investment decisions, policymakers.