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.