Hydrogen production and storage R&D technologies for carbon neutrality in Canada: evidence from energy transition and emission reduction dynamics

This study examines the long-run relationship between hydrogen-related R&D expenditures and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions in Canada over 2004Q1–2024Q4 using the Fourier ADL cointegration approach, complemented by FMOLS and CCR estimators. The findings confirm a stable long-run association among the variables. Both estimation methods consistently indicate that hydrogen production R&D and hydrogen storage R&D are associated with lower CO 2 emissions, with estimated long-run elasticities ranging from − 0.007 to − 0.009 and from − 0.010 to − 0.013, respectively. In contrast, GDP and transportation services are positively associated with emissions, whereas trade openness has no statistically significant long-run relationship. These findings suggest that sustained hydrogen-related innovation may support Canada’s decarbonization pathway by facilitating the long-term diffusion and commercialization of clean energy technologies. Therefore, Canada should prioritize sustained investment in hydrogen production and storage R&D, expand hydrogen infrastructure, and integrate hydrogen innovation into national energy and industrial policies to accelerate progress toward carbon neutrality and long-term emissions reduction. Nevertheless, the findings should be interpreted in light of two limitations: the quarterly series are derived from annual data using the quadratic match-sum procedure, and the analysis relies on aggregate CO 2 emissions rather than sector-specific or life-cycle emission measures.