Hydrogen storage selection for Saudi Arabia: A multi-criteria decision making under interval-valued Pythagorean fuzzy environment

Hydrogen is a pivotal energy carrier in the transition to sustainable energy, aligning with Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 goals to diversify its energy sector and reduce reliance on fossil fuels. This study introduces a novel multi-criteria decision making framework integrating Interval-Valued Pythagorean Fuzzy Sets (IVPFS) with the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) to evaluate hydrogen storage technologies for Saudi Arabia. The approach assesses five alternatives—compressed gas, liquefied hydrogen, cryo-compressed hydrogen, underground storage, and chemical storage—across thirteen criteria spanning technological, economic, social, and safety dimensions. Results identify underground storage as the optimal solution, benefiting from Saudi Arabia's geological advantages and low operational costs. Sensitivity analysis and comparative evaluations confirm the framework's robustness. This study provides valuable insights into selecting hydrogen storage technologies tailored to Saudi Arabia's unique conditions and advancing its hydrogen economy under Vision 2030.