Green hydrogen partnerships with the Global South. Advancing an energy justice perspective on “tomorrow's oil”

Abstract

Fuel cells and other hydrogen-based technologies are increasingly seen as a key pillar of global decarbonization efforts. A major challenge to be overcome is the future availability of large quantities of affordable green hydrogen to supply the envisioned hydrogen economy. Several industrialized countries have formulated ambitious national hydrogen strategies that rely heavily on importing green hydrogen from other countries, including countries in the Global South that are rich in renewable energy. This paper is based on an extensive literature review and policy analysis. It provides the first structured overview of existing and emerging North-South green hydrogen partnerships and analyzes them through the lens of energy justice theory.The findings show that international collaboration has increased significantly in recent years, with a clear focus on Brazil, Egypt, India, and Morocco. Partnerships are led by both government and private sector actors and mainly take the form of pilot projects, feasibility studies, and scientific collaboration. The paper also points out that existing partnerships have several shortcomings, such as the lack of sociopolitical considerations and the dominance of donor economic priorities over sustainable development in partner countries. Finally, the paper discusses how an energy justice perspective could help improve future partnership approaches to achieve the twin goals of global climate change mitigation and sustainable development in the Global South.

Analysis of the Scientific Production on the Green Hydrogen Theme Published in Scientific Journals Indexed by EBSCO

“…And sustainability was the second most widely disseminated theme by scholars in their respective research related to green hydrogen, being due to the said word is the main one in many scientific subjects (Panah et al, 2022), particularly nowadays in relation to green hydrogen, i.e. in the framework of the improvement of renewable sources, and in this case energy sustainability is strong (Ali et al, 2022), through the change of carbon-based fuels (Genovese,et al, 20200220), through the hydrogen which is progressively verified as a relevant foundation for achieving decarbonization (Lindner, 2022) for renewable energy generation (Zuben, et al, 2022). This is how the third topic most sought after by researchers to publish their respective findings and contributions in relation to green hydrogen, which is anergy, and its relevance is due, therefore, to the production of hydrogen from hydroelectric energy, which is a niche opportunity to lead countries towards sustainable energy solutions and a hydrogen-powered economy (Thapa et al, 2021), thus influencing the decarbonization goals in the world (Raman et al, 2022), and thus corroborating energy development to make it feasible sustainable development (Guarieiro et al, 2022), while simultaneously providing opportunities for expansion into a green hydrogen-based society (LeeTentet al, 2022).…”

“…For hydrogen to play a role in future low-carbon energy systems, it must be demonstrated that it has sufficiently low carbon emissions (Abad & Dodds, 2020;Ali, Bennui, Chowdhury & Techato, 2022). Given the above, it is emphasized that fuel cells and other hydrogen-based technologies are increasingly seen as a key pillar of global decarbonization efforts (Lindner, 2022).…”

Material science in hydrogen energy: A review of global progress and potential

“…The importance of industry partnerships, international collaboration, and the development of standards for hydrogen safety is emphasized in the context of advancing material science for hydrogen energy. These collaborations and standards are crucial for translating research findings into practical applications, ensuring scalability, cost-effectiveness, and alignment with broader energy transition goals (Lindner, 2022;Yan-Mei et al, 2020).…”

Risky Business? Evaluating Hydrogen Partnerships Established by Germany, The Netherlands, and Belgium

“…Furthermore, there is an increasing body of literature that addresses another blind spot, namely the implications of hydrogen trade for the hydrogen export countries. These studies start from the objective of energy justice and have taken a more critical perspective towards hydrogen partnerships [37][38][39][40]. Müller et al point out that hydrogen partnerships with countries such as Morocco or Namibia risk exacerbating existing inequities rather than leading to a just transition [38].…”