Financial and State Regulation Approaches of Companies to Hydrogen Energy

The growth of hydrogen energy use is an area that has become increasingly important in recent years, especially within the scope of clean energy transition and the use of sustainable energy resources. In order to expand investments in hydrogen sector, active participation of the private sector is indispensable. Hence, it is of paramount importance to assess the factors that determine essentially private sector actors' investments into hydrogen sector. The study focuses on the case study Azerbaijan, a small oil and gas exporting country that puts a particular attention on the deployment of renewable energy sources and development green hydrogen value chain for production of hydrogen for European Union. To address the challenges and opportunities of Azerbaijani companies within the hydrogen value chain the study surveys representatives of 65 companies based on structured interviews. The study finds that the state regulation approach of companies differs depending on the company's field of activity, company size and year of activity. On the contrary, it was determined that the financial approaches of companies did not change according to their basic characteristics. JEL: Q42