A review of hydrogen energy in renewable energy supply chain finance

Energy supply chain participants recognise the benefits of hydrogen energy in accelerating the energy transition and meeting the global energy demand. However, concerns remain regarding the financial viability of hydrogen energy supply chain operations. The construct of supply chain finance (SCF) in renewable energy networks has received significant attention as stakeholders perceive its benefits in improving liquidity, financial performance, and competitiveness. Despite the increasing volume of SCF-related studies on renewable energy networks, there is a dearth of articles that extensively review extant literature to identify SCF capabilities suitable for hydrogen energy networks, propose a comprehensive framework of hydrogen energy-SCF, and provide actionable insights into future research directions. This study addresses this limitation by conducting a state-of-the-art systematic literature review (SLR) of 75 candidate articles, which were analysed using template analysis to uncover the existing research trends and distil key hydrogen energy-SCF themes. The study uniquely develops a holistic framework of hydrogen energy-SCF, addressing key drivers including environmental sustainability, financial considerations, policies, technologies, and SCF initiatives. Moreover, this study offers fresh perspectives on SCF initiatives specific to hydrogen energy networks, emphasizing their importance for energy security and sustainability. Importantly, gaps in the literature are identified, upon which future research opportunities are proposed. The findings position hydrogen energy-SCF not only as a game-changer for the transition of global energy systems but also provide both practical and theoretical insights for academics and industry stakeholders.