Exploring Hydrogen Technology Adoption in the German Energy Sector — A Dynamic Capabilities Perspective

  • The transition to hydrogen is an important element of the sustainable transition of Germany’s industry. Regional German municipal utilities play a key role in this transition, as they are at the core position between local demand and regional supply. They play an important role when it comes to planned infrastructure development on the regional level. As energy infrastructure development is a long-term project, they need to deal with the hydrogen transition at a very early stage, including pilot projects, organizational changes, and business model adaptations. Yet, not much is known about how these entities organize the transition to hydrogen. Using a qualitative research approach, this study takes a dynamic-capability perspective to shed light on the hydrogen transition activities of German municipal utilities. Industry and other energy sector participants can learn from these insights on how to organize the transition path towards hydrogen. Findings indicate that strong partnerships play a key role in identifying new opportunitiesThe transition to hydrogen is an important element of the sustainable transition of Germany’s industry. Regional German municipal utilities play a key role in this transition, as they are at the core position between local demand and regional supply. They play an important role when it comes to planned infrastructure development on the regional level. As energy infrastructure development is a long-term project, they need to deal with the hydrogen transition at a very early stage, including pilot projects, organizational changes, and business model adaptations. Yet, not much is known about how these entities organize the transition to hydrogen. Using a qualitative research approach, this study takes a dynamic-capability perspective to shed light on the hydrogen transition activities of German municipal utilities. Industry and other energy sector participants can learn from these insights on how to organize the transition path towards hydrogen. Findings indicate that strong partnerships play a key role in identifying new opportunities and that balancing risk and benefit is a key challenge when it comes to realizing new technological hydrogen projects.show moreshow less

Export metadata

Additional Services

Search Google Scholar
Metadaten
Author:Daniel GerhardORCiD, Katarzyna Kramarska, Ulrich UlmerORCiD
DOI:https://doi.org/10.3390/su172310545
Parent Title (English):Sustainability
Document Type:Article
Language:English
Date of first Publication:2025/11/25
Reviewed:Begutachtet/Reviewed
Release Date:2025/11/26
Tag:hydrogen adoption; dynamic capabilities; technology adoption
Volume:17
Article Number:10545
Pagenumber:16
institutes:Fakultät Verfahrenstechnik
Institut für Angewandte Wasserstoffforschung, Elektro- und Thermochemische Energiesysteme (H2Ohm)
Energie Campus Nürnberg
Research Themes:Energie & Ressourcen
Licence (German):Creative Commons - CC BY - Namensnennung 4.0 International
Verstanden ✔
Diese Webseite verwendet technisch erforderliche Session-Cookies. Durch die weitere Nutzung der Webseite stimmen Sie diesem zu. Unsere Datenschutzerklärung finden Sie hier.