Building Green Hydrogen Markets: A New Case Study with Siemens Energy on Strategy, Policy, and Scale

At a moment when global energy systems are undergoing rapid transformation and facing mounting geopolitical pressures, green hydrogen has emerged as one of the most promising, yet uncertain, pathways to decarbonization. At Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business, the Baratta Center for Global Business Education is bringing this challenge into the classroom through a new teaching case study developed in partnership with Siemens Energy, a global leader in energy technology.

The case makes a timely contribution to the debate over the future of the U.S. green hydrogen market. Set in April 2024, it examines the strategic challenges facing companies entering a nascent industry, the durability of government incentives in a politically dynamic environment, and the role of cross-sector collaboration in scaling an emerging clean energy ecosystem.

At its core, the case explores one of the defining strategic questions of the energy transition: how does a global technology company decide where and when to invest in a market where policy incentives are substantial but uncertain, infrastructure remains underdeveloped, and demand has yet to take shape at scale?

The case then brings readers inside Siemens Energy’s strategic deliberations on whether to expand in the U.S. green hydrogen market where strong technical capabilities and supportive policy signals suggest a compelling opportunity.

The Gap Between Policy Support and Market Demand

Yet the case highlights a critical tension between policy ambition and market reality.

Despite substantial incentives, the U.S. green hydrogen market remains fragmented and early-stage. Infrastructure constraints limit the ability to transport hydrogen efficiently across regions, while regulatory uncertainty complicates long-term investment decisions. Most importantly, demand has yet to materialize at the scale needed to sustain large capital commitments. Potential buyers remain hesitant to enter long-term contracts at current price levels even as cost reductions depend on precisely that kind of early adoption.

This creates a classic coordination problem: supply requires demand to scale, but demand depends on future cost reductions that only scale can deliver.

Since the case was written, shifts in the policy landscape have further sharpened these dynamics. Changes to federal incentives and evolving priorities around hydrogen hub funding have introduced additional uncertainty, reinforcing the central question the case poses.

“This case study captures a pivotal moment in the energy transition, where technology, policy, and market forces are evolving in parallel but not always in alignment,” said Daniela Muhaj, adjunct faculty and director of research and technology initiatives at the Baratta Center. “It challenges students to think beyond incentives and evaluate the deeper conditions required to build a market, including demand formation, infrastructure readiness, and the durability of policy support.”

Building Hydrogen Markets in a Global Context

This is precisely the kind of challenge Georgetown’s Jesuit mission calls its community to engage with: grounded in a commitment to care for our common home and to advance the global common good. Green hydrogen has the potential to help decarbonize industries responsible for a substantial share of global greenhouse gas emissions, from steel and chemicals to aviation and maritime shipping.

“We think hydrogen is the Swiss army knife. It’s got a lot of capabilities, and I think that’ll be the one that gets us to be decarbonized in the world,” Rich Voorberg, president of Siemens Energy North America, has said publicly of the company’s hydrogen ambitions.

The case was developed with extensive support from Siemens Energy teams across government affairs, sales, product development, and business development, and draws on interviews with policy and industry experts.

It also invites students to consider the United States within a broader global context where regions are pursuing distinct approaches to market formation. The European Union has paired financial incentives with regulatory mandates to create demand, while countries such as Canada have leveraged natural resource advantages and infrastructure readiness to position themselves as competitive exporters.

For a global firm like Siemens Energy, these differences shape not only where to invest, but how to evaluate long-term risk and opportunity across markets.

From Classroom Learning to Real-World Impact

​​As Michael Ryan, teaching professor at the McDonough School of Business, notes: “This case highlights how U.S. policymakers, through both legislation and administrative guidance, have sought to create market incentives for hydrogen across energy, transportation, and industrial applications. It encourages students to think strategically about how federal policy can drive business investment in emerging technologies, while also recognizing that those opportunities differ based on the characteristics of specific industries and states.”

Through partnerships like this one, the Baratta Center advances its role as Georgetown McDonough’s platform for cross-sector dialogue, education, and action on the future of global business. The center convenes students, faculty, business leaders, policymakers, and academic communities to exchange ideas, test solutions, and translate insight into practice. As technologies like green hydrogen move from promise to practice, the challenge is no longer just innovation, but execution at scale. The ability to translate technological potential into viable, resilient markets will define the next phase of the energy transition and the next generation of global business leadership.

Read Siemens Energy: Taking a Leap Into the U.S. Green Hydrogen Market to explore the full case. Authored by Sheetal Bhardwaj, Anil Khurana, Daniela Muhaj, and Michael Ryan, it is now available for classroom use through the Baratta Center.

About the Baratta Center for Global Business Education
The Baratta Center for Global Business Education is dedicated to developing the next generation of principled, globally-minded leaders equipped to navigate and shape a world defined by geopolitical competition, technological change, and increasing complexity. Housed in the McDonough School of Business, the center draws on interdisciplinary expertise from the School of Foreign Service and across business, policy, and international affairs to deliver an applied approach to global business education, built for the realities of an increasingly multipolar world.

About Siemens Energy
Siemens Energy is one of the world’s leading energy technology companies. The company works with its customers and partners to develop the energy systems of the future, supporting the transition to a more sustainable world. With its portfolio of products, solutions, and services, Siemens Energy covers almost the entire energy value chain – from power and heat generation to energy transmission and storage. The portfolio includes conventional and renewable energy technologies, such as gas and steam turbines, hydrogen-powered hybrid power plants, generators, and transformers.

With its wind power subsidiary Siemens Gamesa, Siemens Energy is one of the world market leaders in renewable energies. An estimated one-sixth of global electricity generation is based on technologies from Siemens Energy. Siemens Energy employs around 103,000 people in more than 90 countries worldwide and generated revenue of €39.1 billion in fiscal 2025.