Due to population growth and the expansion of different industries, Iran is confronted with the issue of energy and hydrogen generation for various sectors. According to research, Iran has much potential for renewable energy sources such as wind and solar. Renewable energy is critical for meeting the needs of various industries by producing energy and hydrogen. As a result, this study identified and analyzed development plans for hydrogen production from Iran's renewable energies using SWOT analysis and multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) techniques. The Stepwise Weight Assessment Ratio Analysis (SWARA) approach was used to weigh the criteria and sub-criteria, and power generation cost was identified as the most critical sub-criteria. Then, the identified strategies were ranked using the gray additive ratio assessment (ARAS-Gray) method. Following that, the gray technique for order of preference by similarity to the ideal solution (TOPSIS-G), the gray complex proportional assessment (COPRAS-G), and the gray simple additive weighting (SAW-G) techniques were used to validate the results. The finding revealed that the strategy of cooperation and coordination between energy investing companies and various industries in Iran to develop hydrogen projects at a minimum cost was recognized as the most efficient strategy in all procedures. As a result, with the cooperation and coordination of companies and various industries in Iran, clean energy and fuel can be produced at a low cost using renewable sources. By implementing this strategy, the fluctuations in energy production caused by renewable sources will be eliminated, and the energy and hydrogen requirements of various industries will be met.
Keywords: Comparative analysis; Gray numbers; Prioritization; Resource assessment; Strategic planning; Sustainability.
© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.