The Impact of Green Industrial Policy on the Hydrogen Vehicle Market – WUEB Researcher at an International Seminar of the Committee on Economic Sciences of the Polish Academy of Sciences

Which instruments of green industrial policy most effectively support the development of clean transport? How should strategies be designed to ensure that investments in hydrogen and fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) translate into real economic and environmental change? And what lessons can Poland draw from California’s pioneering efforts in advancing clean and sustainable mobility?

In search of answers to these questions, Dr. Paweł Brusiło from the Wroclaw University of Economics and Business conducted research in collaboration with Prof. David G. Victor and Dr. Ryan Hanna (University of California San Diego, USA). The study was carried out as part of his doctoral dissertation under the supervision of Prof. Bogusława Drelich-Skulska and successfully defended at WUEB in 2024.

The research was based on structured interviews with 46 experts representing industry, public administration, and academia. This analysis made it possible to identify the most effective instruments of green industrial policy – among them grants and diverse systems of tradable emission permits.

The findings highlight that the future of the hydrogen vehicle market depends not only on technological progress in fuel cells but, above all, on a long-term, predictable, and coherent green industrial policy. Such a policy must support both infrastructure development and access to affordable renewable hydrogen.

The results of this research, together with their implications for Polish and European hydrogen strategies, were presented on 3 June 2025 at 6:00 p.m. during a scientific seminar organized by the Committee on Economic Sciences of the Polish Academy of Sciences (KNE PAN), as part of the prestigious series “A New Generation in Economic Sciences.”

The seminar provided an important platform for knowledge exchange between early-career researchers and distinguished experts – and a space for reflection on the future of economic policy and the challenges of the energy transition.

The discussion featured contributions from, among others:

• Dr. Ryan Hanna (University of California San Diego)
• Prof. Michał Wolański, PhD (SGH Warsaw School of Economics) – discussant
• Prof. Marzenna Weresa (SGH, Chair of KNE PAN)
• Prof. Katarzyna Szarzec (Poznań University of Economics and Business, Vice-Chair of KNE PAN)

More on Dr. Brusiło’s research can be found here:

https://wir.ue.wroc.pl/info/article/UEWR3952b97c87804f3088c435396147d796/

Materials were presented at the KNE PAN Seminar | 3 June 2025