University of Twente Student Theses
Barriers to the Implementation of Water Electrolyzers for green hydrogen production in the Netherlands
Alikhanifar, Hadi (2021) Barriers to the Implementation of Water Electrolyzers for green hydrogen production in the Netherlands.
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| Abstract: | Climate change, scarcity of resources, waste generation, and deforestation are all worldwide issues caused by the overuse of unsustainable fossil fuels. By raising people's knowledge of the issue, there is a new consensus that a transition to a new clean and sustainable energy system is required. In this sense, the hydrogen economy is gaining traction, with the fundamental idea being to use renewable energies to create hydrogen from water using electrolysis processes employing water electrolyzers. This technology is regarded as one of the most promising for contributing to the desired sustainable energy system. It is not, however, an easy transition, nor is it merely a technological transition. Energy systems, as socio-technical systems, are typically locked in various processes, are path dependent, and several modifications on multiple dimensions are required for a transition to occur. To that end, and to understand what impedes or fosters this transition, this study investigates the barriers to the implementation of water electrolysis for green hydrogen production in the Netherlands by analyzing the interaction of dynamics at three levels of socio-technical regime, niches, and the landscape. To achieve this, a study of the implementation of water electrolysis for green hydrogen production in the Netherlands was conducted, which was based on semi-structured interviews with 11 experts and desk study of relevant literature. It was found in this study that water electrolyzers are having difficulty breaking out of their niche and breaking into the mainstream regime. They are still in their infancy and confront multiple difficulties. Although global and European landscape developments in energy supply security and climate change, as well as Dutch climate movements put the pressure on the current grey hydrogen production regime and open up a window of opportunity for sustainable production methods of hydrogen and specifically green hydrogen production in the Netherland, there are barriers on both regime and niche level that impede the transition. The regime is locked- in on multiple dimension and there are barriers on policy, market and user preferences, and technology trajectories. The niche also suffers from a lack of precise expectation articulation and a poorly organized network of actors with problems in learning processes. |
| Item Type: | Essay (Master) |
| Faculty: | BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences |
| Subject: | 70 social sciences in general |
| Programme: | Environmental and Energy Management MSc (69319) |
| Link to this item: | https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/88234 |
| Export this item as: | BibTeX EndNote HTML Citation Reference Manager |
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