The micro–meso–macro architecture of a proposed collaborative emergent strategy for the hydrogen market

Abstract

Abstract In 2018, an intergovernmental climate-change panel concluded that, to maintain a global temperature increases of <1.5oC, net-zero greenhouse-gas emissions would be required by 2050. Since then, >110 countries have pledged net-zero carbon ambitions by 2050 and hydrogen has been identified at national levels as key to achieving this. Governments have pledged >US$ 70 billion to further advance hydrogen infrastructure and technology, with an additional investigation on >200 proposed hydrogen-based projects expecting completion before 2030, totalling a value of US$ 300 billion. Reaching these aggressive targets will require a disciplined cohesion of collaborative strategies to develop an integrated macro infrastructure system. This article discusses the current infancy of the hydrogen market, introduces and defines a new ‘collaborative emergent strategy’ based on the emergent strategy concept by Mintzberg and Waters, and links its developmental viability through a staged micro–meso–macro architecture. Successful strategic business case studies and current market opportunities across multiple industries are reviewed as they all vie for a strategic early market position.