The role of hydrogen energy: Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (2nd version)

This chapter aims at summarizing and analyzing the internal and external factors affecting hydrogen economy in China and proposes a series of strengthening strategies by using PESTEL analysis and a strengths-weaknesses-opportunities-threats (SWOT) analytical framework, and then, the effectiveness of the strategies for promoting hydrogen economy in China is evaluated based on multicriteria decision analysis. To do that, 12 factors, including strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, are identified, and nine strategies are proposed. After that, three multicriteria decision-making methods, namely, fuzzy simple additive weighting, fuzzy weighted geometric means, and fuzzy goal programming, are used to prioritize these strategies, which can help decision makers and stakeholders to make appropriate policies and decisions in the forthcoming hydrogen age. The proposed methods and framework can also be applied to investigate hydrogen economy in other countries and areas.