Developing a road map for adoption of sustainable hydrogen: A Delphi study of business and industry

Overview: This proposal will identify the challenges, barriers and opportunities facing businesses involved in the transition to a low-carbon, sustainable hydrogen economy. Utilising a mixed method forecasting approach (Delphi), the project will support a student to survey practitioners in a sector / industry. Through elite interviews with practitioners, the Delphi method will produce a clear road map for the adoption of hydrogen technologies that can inform policy, design and use.
Method: The project will involve at least two rounds of interviews and surveys with practitioners, to be identified and recruited by the student (N=30-50). The initial round of interviews will allow practitioners to identify and rank challenges and opportunities they foresee with adoption of hydrogen. These will be analysed to produce an overall group forecast, which will then presented to participants in subsequent rounds of interviews. Here, respondents will be able to amend their initial views based on the group's overall predictions. The result will be a picture - at an aggregate or group-level - of the likely adoption of hydrogen.
Deliverables: The project will produce academic outputs (targeting Energy Policy) and impactful advice for practitioners (via infographics). Utilising the Delphi method will allow the project to be compared and integrated into a global road map of similar studies.