Engineering

Economic system

Fuel cells

Underdevelopment

Economics

Chemical engineering

Business

International trade

Hydrogen economy

Hydrogen

Organic chemistry

Renewable energy

Political science

Sustainable development

Hydrogen fuel

Economy

Chemistry

Economic growth

Natural resource economics

Green economy

Electrical engineering

Sustainability

The present paper dwells on the role of green hydrogen in the transition towards climate-neutral economies and reviews the central challenges for its emancipation as an economically viable source of energy. The study shows that countries with a substantial share of renewables in the energy mix, advanced natural gas pipeline infrastructure, and an advanced level of technological and economic development have a comparative advantage for the wider utilization of hydrogen in their national energy systems. The central conclusion of this review paper is that a green hydrogen rollout in the developed and oil-exporting developing and emerging countries is not a risk for the rest of the world in terms of the increasing technological disparities and conservation of underdevelopment and concomitant socio-economic problems of the Global South. The targets anchored in Paris Agreement, but even more in the EU Green Deal and the European Hydrogen Strategy will necessitate a substantial rollout of RESs in developing countries, and especially in the countries of the African Union because of the prioritization of the African continent within the energy cooperation frameworks of the EU Green Deal and the EU Hydrogen Strategy. Hence, the green hydrogen rollout will bridge the energy transition between Europe and Africa on the one hand, and climate and development targets on the other.

Political Economy of Green Hydrogen Rollout: A Global Perspective