The effects of hydrogen research and innovation on international hydrogen trade

Climate change and the pressure to decarbonize, as well as energy security concerns, have drawn the attention of policymakers and the industry to hydrogen energy. To advance the hydrogen economy at a global scale, research and innovation progress is of significant importance, among others. However, previous studies have provided only limited quantitative evidence of the effects of research and innovation on the formation of a global hydrogen market. Instead, they postulate rather than empirically support this relationship. Therefore, this study analyzes the effects of research and innovation measured by scientific publications, patents, and standards on bilateral hydrogen trade flows for 32 countries between 1995 and 2019 in a gravity model of trade, using regression analyses and Poisson Pseudo Maximum Likelihood (PPML) estimation. The main results of the PPML estimation show that research and innovation progress is indeed associated with increased trade, especially with patenting and (international) standardization enhancing hydrogen export volumes. As policy implications, we derive that increased public R&D funding can help increase the competitiveness of hydrogen energy and boost market growth, along with infrastructure support and harmonized standards and regulations.