How a Grid Company Could Enter the Hydrogen Industry through a New Business Model: A Case Study in China

Xu, Danlu; Liu, Zhoubin; Shan, Rui; Weng, Haixiao; Zhang, Haoyu

doi:10.3390/su15054417

Open AccessArticle

How a Grid Company Could Enter the Hydrogen Industry through a New Business Model: A Case Study in China

by

Danlu Xu

¹,

Zhoubin Liu

¹,

Rui Shan

^2,3,*

,

Haixiao Weng

³ and

Haoyu Zhang

³

¹

Center of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, State Grid Zhejiang Electric Power Company, Hangzhou 310051, China

²

Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA

³

Carbon Baseline LLC, Shanghai 200062, China

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Sustainability 2023, 15(5), 4417; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15054417

Submission received: 12 January 2023 / Revised: 12 February 2023 / Accepted: 14 February 2023 / Published: 1 March 2023

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy Transition and Hydrogen: Challenges and Opportunities)

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Abstract

The increasing penetration of renewable and distributed resources signals a global boom in energy transition, but traditional grid utilities have yet to share in much of the triumph at the current stage. Higher grid management costs, lower electricity prices, fewer customers, and other challenges have emerged along the path toward renewable energy, but many more opportunities await to be seized. Most importantly, there are insufficient studies on how grid utilities can thrive within the hydrogen economy. Through a case study on the State Grid Corporation of China, we identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) of grid utilities within the hydrogen economy. Based on these factors, we recommend that grids integrate hydrogen into the energy-as-a-service model and deliver it to industrial customers who are under decarbonization pressure. We also recommend that grid utilities fund a joint venture with pipeline companies to optimize electricity and hydrogen transmissions simultaneously.

Keywords: business model; transmission and distribution grid; hydrogen

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MDPI and ACS Style

Xu, D.; Liu, Z.; Shan, R.; Weng, H.; Zhang, H. How a Grid Company Could Enter the Hydrogen Industry through a New Business Model: A Case Study in China. Sustainability 2023, 15, 4417. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15054417

AMA Style

Xu D, Liu Z, Shan R, Weng H, Zhang H. How a Grid Company Could Enter the Hydrogen Industry through a New Business Model: A Case Study in China. Sustainability. 2023; 15(5):4417. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15054417

Chicago/Turabian Style

Xu, Danlu, Zhoubin Liu, Rui Shan, Haixiao Weng, and Haoyu Zhang. 2023. "How a Grid Company Could Enter the Hydrogen Industry through a New Business Model: A Case Study in China" Sustainability 15, no. 5: 4417. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15054417

APA Style

Xu, D., Liu, Z., Shan, R., Weng, H., & Zhang, H. (2023). How a Grid Company Could Enter the Hydrogen Industry through a New Business Model: A Case Study in China. Sustainability, 15(5), 4417. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15054417

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

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How a Grid Company Could Enter the Hydrogen Industry through a New Business Model: A Case Study in China

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