Financial component of the hydrogen economy development strategy of Ukraine

The relevance of the study is determined by the need to detail the financial justification of the development of the hydrogen economy in Ukraine, taking into account the need to ensure energy independence and diversification of energy resources. With a sufficient number of publications on the innovativeness of hydrogen technologies, global trends in their use and the importance of decarbonization of public production, the issue of financial support for the development of the hydrogen economy remains insufficiently covered. The purpose of the article is to highlight and characterize the financial component of the strategy for building the hydrogen economy of Ukraine. To achieve the goal, general and special methods of scientific research were used: abstraction, decomposition, comparison, analysis, extrapolation. According to the results of the study, a derived relationship between the number of scientific studies on the development of hydrogen technologies and the state of the energy market was revealed, which made it possible to put forward a hypothesis about the intensity of research on the prospects for the development of the hydrogen economy in the context of the adequacy of its financing. The existing hydrogen technologies can be applied only in connection with the development of renewable energy, they require increased innovations in production, infrastructure, and consumption of hydrogen, therefore, they require increased financing. The financial component of the Hydrogen Strategy of Ukraine (until 2050), developed by the Ministry of Energy, is highlighted at each stage of its implementation. The foreign experience of strategies for the development of the hydrogen economy is presented and the insufficiency of financial resources to ensure the achievement of the target indicators of the Ukrainian strategy, especially in the conditions of war, is stated. The relationship between the Hydrogen Strategy of Ukraine and the Recovery Plan of Ukraine until 2032 is characterized. The general need for financing the development of the hydrogen economy at the second stage of the implementation of the Hydrogen Strategy was determined in connection with the content of the pilot projects. Accordingly, there is a need to detail the focus and sources of funding for the hydrogen economy development strategy in Ukraine, potential sources of cash receipts, changes in institutional and regulatory support for the hydrogen strategy.