The Making of a Hydrogen Economy: A Comparative Look at the US and EU
Published 16 April 2024
Executive Summary
Hydrogen has been identified as a core part of various jurisdictions' decarbonisation agendas. This article critically analyses and compares the regulatory and policy tools which the US and the EU have adopted or plan to adopt in order to create their hydrogen economies. Through an instrumentalist lens, it examines the manner in which the policy approaches converge and differ, as well as areas where there is a lack of clarity, setting out the issues that the US and EU will need to grapple with moving forward. One of the outcomes seen is a convergence between the two approaches regarding the types of hydrogen which should be supported in order to grow the hydrogen economy. How the US and EU's developing hydrogen economies develop is still up in the air, with the nascent state of the industry. However, it seems like they would benefit from knowledge sharing, as well as adopting certain concepts and positions from one another for a more uniform approach. Cooperation rather than conflict could provide an opportunity for easier transatlantic trade, which could further certain policy aims.
This paper will be part of the OGEL Special Issue on "International Energy and Investment Law Implications of the US Inflation Reduction Act". More information here www.ogel.org/news.asp?key=762