Multi-criteria prioritization for clean hydrogen power auctions: Analytic hierarchy process analysis of South Korea’s pioneering framework and policy insights

This study applies the analytic hierarchy process to derive expert-based weights for South Korea's Clean Hydrogen Portfolio Standard (CHPS), which was introduced in 2024 as a national clean hydrogen power procurement auction scheme. Based on pairwise comparisons from 52 experts and bootstrapped 95% confidence intervals, a three-level hierarchy shows that non-price criteria (55.11%) outweigh price (44.89%), with “Ensuring trustworthiness and acceptance” (27.99%) and “Contribution to the environment and economy” (27.12%) receiving greater weight than price 60:40 split. The most important sub-criteria are greenhouse gas emission coefficients (8.31%), fuel supply stability (6.34%), and ecosystem activation (5.24%). These discrepancies indicate a divergence between the current CHPS scoring framework and the priorities expressed by the surveyed experts, and may provide useful input for future policy review. The findings may inform future discussions on CHPS design in South Korea, particularly in relation to decarbonization, risk mitigation, and hydrogen ecosystem development.