Social, Technical and Policy Barriers in the Green Hydrogen Implementation: A Case Study of Pakistan

Abstract

The transition to renewable energy systems demands innovative storage solutions to address social, technological, and policy challenges, as conventional storage methods drive emissions, compromising climate stability and energy security, making green hydrogen storage a pivotal alternative for a cleaner, resilient future. This research explores critical challenges hindering the efficiency and feasibility of green hydrogen storage systems through a comprehensive multimethod approach. Key challenges identified through comprehensive literature analysis, include economic recession, regional heterogeneity, cross-investor differences, political interference, digitalization and technological integration, and occupational health and safety. An agent-based model (ABM) is developed to identify the actors, agents and the decision makers who are responsible for the conducive implementation of green hydrogen storage system. After the simulation of ABM in NetLogo, an empirical validation is performed through 17 semi-structured interviews from the experts working in the manufacturing industry. The Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) was employed to quantify results, ensuring robustness through consistency ratio checks. Sensitivity analysis, applied with 5% adjustments to the pairwise comparison matrix, reinforced the reliability of findings. The comparative analysis revealed a weak correlation (0.399) between NetLogo values and AHP weights that are further analyzed with hybrid validation indices. The outcomes emphasize actionable insights for addressing systemic social, technological and policy challenges in the adoption of green hydrogen storage system. This study contributes to the discourse on renewable energy systems by providing a structured framework to assess and mitigate the multifaceted challenges in green hydrogen integration, particularly in the manufacturing sector.