This paper will review the policy activities, targets, and strategies for hydrogen as an energy carrier in eight of the world’s most active economies, then focus on the “big four”: Japan, Germany, South Korea and California. These four economies share common policy drivers for hydrogen development and deployment: achieving strong climate mitigation goals, energy supply diversification, energy storage for renewables-based grid, and attaining technology leadership. Differences in their policy emphases has led to varying levels of hydrogen adoption across these economies, in different sectors, with different levels of progress. The present study will analyze the policy framework of these four jurisdictions, considering the following aspects: 1) Carbon mitigation targets and the role of hydrogen envisaged by each jurisdiction; 2) Hydrogen in transportation: fuel-cell vehicles and hydrogen refueling infrastructure; 3) Differing policy emphasis on blue and green hydrogen along with supply chain development plan; and 4) Hydrogen demand projections and underlying policy drivers. The study will aim to draw policy parallels and contrasts, analyze the potential impacts, and provide plausible recommendations for the four jurisdictions to better align their decarbonization strategies using hydrogen.
