Hydrogen technologies and policies for sustainable future: a review

Hydrogen has recently attracted considerable attention as a promising alternative for addressing energy and environmental issues. Hydrogen is a flexible and clean energy carrier that can be used in various industries, including transportation, manufacturing, and power generation, without emitting harmful emissions. This study provides a detailed review of hydrogen technologies and policies in the context of a hydrogen economy. Hydrogen production is examined with its cost analysis and current technological challenges, in addition to the key aspects of hydrogen storage, transportation and applications. This review also provides a critical discussion of global policies and roadmaps that have been proposed or implemented to achieve a hydrogen-based future economy. These policies include funding for R&D, financial incentives, tax credits, and frameworks. Finally, two key areas that can be exploited to expedite global hydrogen adoption are proposed. First, technological challenges can be addressed by employing an integrated system approach to produce hydrogen for various applications, along with vigorous investment in research on material development in handling/storing hydrogen. Second, policies to accelerate hydrogen adoption should focus on public–private partnerships, media awareness campaigns, and the introduction of green credit scores.