Value co-creation in the renewable energy-hydrogen-methanol chain: A complex network evolutionary game under multi-market contexts

The extension of the green hydrogen value chain plays a vital role in optimizing the energy structure and advancing the development of clean energy. However, the storage and transportation of green hydrogen pose a significant challenge to its expansion. As a promising hydrogen carrier, green e-methanol is expected to provide an effective pathway for promoting the application of green hydrogen. This work constructs a complex network evolutionary game model within a multi-market coupling context to investigate the strategic evolution of value co-creation in a renewable‑hydrogen-methanol value chain (RHMV) consisting of renewable energy, green hydrogen, and methanol producers. It further examines the effects of key influencing factors. The study yields the following findings: (1) A portion of participants in the RHMV are inclined to engage in value co-creation. (2) When the initial willingness to cooperate is low, value co-creation cannot be realized, and the effect of increasing this parameter differs heterogeneously among different participating entities. (3) Carbon quota prices, government subsidies, e-methanol prices, and green certificate prices all possess incentive thresholds, and their incentive effects are nonlinear. (4) There are feasible ranges for hydrogen production energy consumption and the electricity price fluctuation coefficient, with the optimal values differing across various entities within the RHMV. Finally, corresponding policy recommendations are provided based on the research findings.