Abstract: [Objectives] Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area is an important strategic area for developing China’s hydrogen energy industry and a key platform for realizing the goal of “carbon peaking and carbon neutrality”. In order to discover the high-level development of the hydrogen industry in the Greater Bay Area and accelerate the construction of a comprehensive hydrogen industry assessment system, this paper studies the major factors affecting the development of the hydrogen energy industry in the Greater Bay Area and puts forward comprehensive recommendations to promote its robust growth. [Methods] The development status of the hydrogen energy industry in the Greater Bay Area is deeply analyzed. The SWOT analysis framework and analytic hierarchy process (AHP) are used to quantitatively analyze and deeply study the influencing factors of the distribution of the hydrogen energy industry in the Greater Bay Area. [Results] The three most important indicators affecting the development of the hydrogen energy industry in the Greater Bay Area are the advantages of technical strength, market demand growth, technological innovation and cooperation opportunities. Among the internal factors, technical strength is the prominent advantage of the hydrogen energy industry in the Greater Bay Area, with a weight value of 0.48, while the incomplete industrial chain and insufficient technical level are the biggest disadvantages, with a weight value of 0.36. Among the external factors, the growth of market demand provides opportunities for the hydrogen energy industry in the Greater Bay Area, but the diversity of alternative energy sources has also become the biggest obstacle threatening the development of the hydrogen energy industry in the Greater Bay Area. [Conclusions] Promoting the development of hydrogen energy technology innovation, increasing the synergistic cooperation of the hydrogen energy industry, expanding the hydrogen energy application market, and increasing policy support will be the important measures to effectively promote the sustainable development of the hydrogen energy industry in the Greater Bay Area.

Key words: dual carbon, carbon neutrality, hydrogen energy, energy transformation, Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, analytic hierarchy process, SWOT analysis, policy recommendations