Connected Strategy for Hydrogen Value Chain ^ Top ^ 48 Part 3 | How can energy & utility (E&U) companies participate in the emerging hydrogen value chain? Hydrogen adoption via connected strategies is bound to take off, however what role will energy and utility industry play in this transition? The disruption caused by this transition across the value chain is shifting the paradigms for investments, requiring new skills, and ways of thinking: away from physical asset (wires pipes and wells) to data exploration, away from persistent focus on traditional, large competitors to non- traditional small disrupters and a fundamental shift from a commodity to a product company mindset with untiring focus on customer experience. Building a continuous relationship with one’s customer and taking a value chain approach will be critical for survival. While the future workforce will require many of the skills that the current workforce has built over time, it will also need to evolve and develop new competencies to realize its full potential. Companies will need to be ready to adapt, renew and evolve to execute their strategies with a workforce that is agile and equipped to support their business. Existing E&U companies still have a role to play however the landscape of players is changing For the oil and gas companies, it makes sense to prolong the lifespan of their existing assets in their own oil refining operations with infrastructure investments and reskilling of the workforce. They can service existing demand in various industries and start making the transition. It is noteworthy that the largest green hydrogen projects15 recently announced are by existing oil and gas majors (Figure 23). What’s changing rapidly is sole monopoly over the value chain.