Starting on 1 December, the HySUCCESS research project (Social User aCCeptable Economically Sustainable Systems for hydrogen) will begin. The research is made possible by a grant from the Dutch Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) and the National Growth Fund program Groenvermogen NL. The research focuses on the transition to a green hydrogen economy. This transition requires technological advancements as well as social, legal, and economic changes. Erasmus School of Law researchers Leonie Reins, Professor of Public Law and Sustainability, and Alberto Quintavalla, Assistant Professor of Innovation of Public Law, will investigate the legal and regulatory aspects within the HySUCCESS project. The project will run until 2028.
The HySUCCESS consortium comprises ten universities, five universities of applied sciences, four commercial parties, and one trade association. The consortium aims to investigate the socio-economic factors that influence the role of hydrogen in a sustainable economy. Furthermore, the project seeks to identify strategies to overcome the barriers to scaling up green hydrogen production and future use.
An adaptive regulatory framework
Quintavalla enthusiastically explains what he and Reins will contribute to the research project: “Within the HySUCCESS-project, our aim is to develop an adaptive regulatory and policy framework (ARPF) for the hydrogen economy, which integrates technological aspects with underlying legal values, market mechanisms and societal and environmental considerations. The aim will be to identify the governance level - international, regional, domestic, provincial, or local - and regulatory instruments, such as taxation, subsidies, permits and civil liability, which would be most responsive for the hydrogen economy.” Quintavalla says their contribution to the larger project thus focuses on the desirability of a specific regulatory framework that can promote the use of hydrogen in a sustainable economy.
Engagement in the project
Reins elaborates on how she and Quintavalla are involved in the HySUCCESS project: “We are involved in this project for both academic and societal reasons. From an academic perspective, hydrogen presents a very interesting case study for researchers who are working at the intersection of energy, environment and technology.” She explains that a crucial question, which also lies at the heart of their work at Erasmus School of Law, is how they can develop regulation that promotes the acceptance of a hydrogen economy while also mitigating the environmental issues and societal risks arising from hydrogen technology. Reins adds: “From a societal perspective, it needs to be examined whether the hydrogen economy is a viable alternative.”
Legal challenges for hydrogen
Within the HySUCCESS project, Reins and Quintavalla will investigate the legal and regulatory aspects of green hydrogen. According to the researchers, the hydrogen economy is still in its infancy, which presents unique challenges. Quintavalla says: “The upscaling scenarios vary greatly, and most of the regulatory framework is still to be developed. Hence, hydrogen regulation can still be considered as a field of law where one needs to strike a balance between clarity of the regulatory approaches and the need for flexibility as well as between safety-based and innovation-based approaches to technologies. This is, in its essence, what we think to be the biggest legal challenge.”
Collaboration within the HySUCCESS Consortium
The HySUCCESS consortium consists of four different work packages. Reins and Quintavalla are part of the work package focused on law. Reins explains: “Our specific contribution will lead to the conceptualization of the adaptive policy and regulatory framework (APRF) as well as the development of testable hypotheses for multilevel governance and regulatory instruments. Later on, our collegues at the Rijksuniversiteit Groningen (RUG) will refine and test these hypotheses with a focus on different aspects of hydrogen. Our cooperation with RUG is strong, and we are always in close contact. Moreover, there are other opportunities to meet all the other involved partners from the consortium - and we just started!”
A great success
Although the research has yet to begin, we asked our researchers when they would consider the project successful. Quintavalla stated: “In our view, the HySUCCESS project can be considered a success when the APRF that we would develop in cooperation with RUG can provide concrete guidance to policymakers and hopefully facilitate the uptake of the hydrogen economy in the Netherlands.”
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