The use of fossil fuels has caused many environmental issues, including greenhouse gas emissions and associated climate change. Several studies have focused on mitigating this problem. One dynamic direction for emerging sources of future renewable energy is the use of hydrogen energy. In this research, we evaluate the sourcing decision for a hydrogen supply chain in the context of a case study in Thailand using group decision making analysis for policy implications. We use an integrative multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) tool which includes an analytic hierarchy process (AHP), fuzzy AHP (FAHP), and data envelopment analysis (DEA) to analyze weighted criteria and sourcing alternatives using data collected from a group of selected experts. A list of criteria related to sustainability paradigms and sourcing decisions for possible use of hydrogen energy, including natural gas, coal, biomass, and water, are evaluated. Our results reveal that political acceptance is considered the most important criterion with a global weight of 0.514 in the context of Thailand. Additionally, natural gas is found to be the foreseeable source for hydrogen production in Thailand with a global weight of 0.313. We also note that the analysis is based on specific data inputs and that an alternative with a lower score does not imply that the source is not worth exploring.

Green hydrogen can be generated through electrolysis using electricity from renewable sources, such as wind and solar, to split water into hydrogen. This study evaluates the green hydrogen supply chain (GHSC) upstream process using the two-phase integrated multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) framework. In the first phase, the data envelopment analysis (DEA) technique is applied to measure the relative efficiency of provincial alternatives with multiple criteria. The input criteria include provincial area, population density, gross domestic product value, and land cost data. In contrast, the sustainability-based governmental criteria concerning people, prosperity, planet, peace, and partnership indices are used as output criteria. Then, the technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal Solution (TOPSIS) is further applied to evaluate regional districts for Ubonratchathani province, one of the twelve relatively efficient provinces, to obtain the ranking list of potential renewable energy sites in the GHSC. Criteria related to geographic and climate data relevant to the efficiency of solar and wind are, thus, collected and analyzed. Our results show that the top three district areas are Kut Khaopun District, Pho Sai District, and Na Tan District, respectively. Finally, the obtained results are verified to evaluate the robustness of the assessment. Our results offer a strategic and practical analysis for policymakers involved in the energy site appraisal process.

Effective management of the hydrogen supply chain (HSC), starting with supplier selection, is crucial for advancing the hydrogen industry and economy. Supplier selection, a complex Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) problem in an inherently uncertain environment, requires careful consideration. This study proposes a novel hybrid MCDA framework that integrates the Bayesian Best–Worst Method (BWM), Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), and Entropy Weight Method (EWM) for robust criteria weighting, which is aggregated using a game theory-based model to resolve inconsistencies and capture the complementary strengths of each technique. Next, the globally weighted criteria, emphasizing sustainability performance and techno-risk considerations, are used in the TODIM method grounded in prospect theory to rank hydrogen suppliers. Numerical experiments demonstrate the approach’s ability to enhance decision robustness compared to standalone MCDA methods. The comparative evaluation and sensitivity analysis confirm the stability and reliability of the proposed method, offering valuable insights for strategic supplier selection in the evolving hydrogen landscape in the HSC.