2606004219
  • Open Access
  • Article

Driving the Hydrogen Energy Economy toward Carbon Neutrality: A Financial and Accounting Perspective on Cost, Risk, and Financing

  • Hao Wang 1,   
  • Xiaoyu Ren 1,   
  • Shi Yin 1,2,*

Received: 01 Apr 2026 | Revised: 10 Jun 2026 | Accepted: 11 Jun 2026 | Published: 15 Jun 2026

Abstract

Against the backdrop of global carbon neutrality, the hydrogen energy industry serves as a critical pillar in the low-carbon energy transition. However, it faces prominent financial and accounting challenges, including incomplete cost accounting systems, high financial risks, difficult financing, and immature carbon accounting mechanisms. This study starts from the perspective of finance and accounting, identifies key constraints in cost management, risk control, financing models, and carbon accounting of hydrogen energy enterprises. We adopt annual panel data from representative hydrogen energy firms collected from corporate annual reports and the Wind database, and apply the two-way fixed effects model for regression analysis. Combined with the volatility characteristics of the US Hydrogen Index, this paper carries out empirical examinations to verify the interrelations between core variables. This study constructs a unified financial accounting analysis framework for the hydrogen energy industry, integrates industry volatility and green hydrogen features to revise traditional accounting logic, and provides targeted solutions. The conclusions can help enterprises reduce costs, mitigate risks, improve financial management, and provide a theoretical and empirical basis for industrial policy formulation.

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Wang, H.; Ren, X.; Yin, S. Driving the Hydrogen Energy Economy toward Carbon Neutrality: A Financial and Accounting Perspective on Cost, Risk, and Financing. Energy Economics and Sustainable Finance 2026, 1 (1), 2.
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