Bridging strategic design and bi-level operational management for hydrogen supply chains under Cournot game-based producer competition

This paper proposes a methodological framework that bridges the strategic design and operational management of hydrogen supply chains (HSCs) under imperfect competition. By linking long-term infrastructure planning with market-level behavioral interactions, the approach captures both vertical coordination between design and operation and horizontal competition among producers. At the strategic level, infrastructure deployment is optimized through a multi-objective mixed integer linear programming (MILP) model. A compromise solution is selected using a multi-criteria decision-making method and further evaluated through an operational management layer based on a bi-level structure. The upper level minimizes distribution costs, while the lower level consists in modeling Cournot-based competition among heterogeneous hydrogen producers with capacity constraints using a hybrid differential evolution approach. The framework is applied to a regional case study in Occitanie (France), comparing monopoly and oligopoly configurations. Results show that competition enhances infrastructure utilization and market penetration but increases total system costs, whereas monopolistic structures minimize costs but underuse assets. Local storage proves essential for balancing production and transport flows. Beyond its methodological contributions, this work provides actionable insights for policymakers and regulators by illustrating how market structures and strategic behaviors affect hydrogen infrastructure deployment. The framework can be extended to incorporate regulatory scenarios, nonlinear demand dynamics, investment timing, and multi-objective trade-offs—offering a robust decision-support tool for the competitive rollout of hydrogen in regional mobility systems. • A bilevel MILP framework integrates hydrogen supply chain design and operational management. • Hydrogen producers compete under capacity-constrained Cournot equilibrium. • Strategic infrastructure is optimized via multi-objective MILP and multiple criteria decision-making selection. • A hybrid solution method combines differential evolution with deterministic Cournot modeling. • Case study reveals trade-offs between market structure, cost, and infrastructure utilization.