Program initiatives of public authorities in the field of hydrogenation of the economy in a global perspective, as of the end of 2020

In the years 2016-2020, there has been a significant acceleration in the development of technologies for the hydrogen energy use and their popularization in practice. The value of the global hydrogen market in 2018 was estimated at US $ 122 billion, predicted that it will increase to US $ 155 billion by the 2022. The appropriate policy framework has a major impact on the development of new technologies, in particular during research, prototype implementations and the initial phase of their commercialization. The spearheading countries intensively involved in the development and dissemination of hydrogen technologies are primarily : Japan, China, South Korea, Germany, France, UK, Scandinavian and Benelux countries, as well as Canada and the USA. The scale of the global development of hydrogen technologies is illustrated by the fact that at the end of 2019, vehicles with hydrogen fuel cells and the publicly accessible hydrogen refuelling stations serving them already operated in 18 countries. An effective use of the incurred expenditures undoubtedly requires the interested states to formulate an appropriate policy (strategy) for the hydrogenation of the economy, including, in addition to precisely defined long-term objectives, e.g. elements of support from public administration, assurance of: stable investment conditions and the necessary regulatory conditions. The article attempts to synthetically present the political framework, i.e. the functioning plans and programs as well as national strategies for the development of hydrogen technology and economy in 19 countrie