Energy sustainability, stakeholder conflicts, and the future of hydrogen in Denmark

Denmark spends the most on hydrogen research (in Gross Domestic Product terms) than any other country in the world, which has led to an immense amount of activity related to hydrogen fuel cells within the past decade. However, not all stakeholders in the Danish hydrogen network share the same vision for the technology. This study therefore uses critical stakeholder analysis to first identify the most influential actors involved in hydrogen research before it documents a set of stakeholder conflicts. The study has a threefold conclusion that urges analysts to rethink how they view stakeholder contention within the Danish hydrogen research network. First, the study concludes that hydrogen and fuel cell technologies are still open for interpretation and the application is thus a conflict area between stakeholders. Second, stakeholder conflict can contribute to technical development according to an evolutionary economics perspective. Third, consensus regarding energy system transitions is by nature temporary and, at times, can be counterproductive to the advancement of hydrogen technologies.