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Walker, B., & Kalvelage, L. (2025). Is green hydrogen really colonial?: A commentary on Tunn et al. 2025. Political Geography, 120, 103318.
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Wagner, L., Raftopoulos, M., & Rasmussen, M. B. (2025). Fragmenting deliberation: Green hydrogen and the conditions for public participation. World Development, 196, 107147.
Abstract: Green hydrogen has emerged as one of the key technologies for the energy transition, both in the Global North and the Global South. However, hydrogen production is located on spatially bounded facilities, and current configurations of hydrogen are riddled with uncertainties. This article analyses how the production of green hydrogen is enrolled in the energy transition and inquire into the specific democratic challenges that this assemblage technology produces. Comparing the conditions of three energy transition in Denmark, Spain and Argentina, it examines how green hydrogen is enabled through different laws and practices that (in)directly facilitate its implementation, how it is legitimized through various kinds of visual and discursive representations as well as the implications are for the conditions of participation. The article argues that although the projects are not very concrete in material terms, the constellations of market and state have shaped the participatory spaces of civil society, generating important effects in the territories, but few democratic openings in local societies.
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Tunn, J., Müller, F., Hennig, J., Simon, J., & Kalt, T. (2025). The German scramble for green hydrogen in Namibia: Colonial legacies revisited? Political Geography, 118, 103293.
Abstract: Namibia is positioning itself as a green hydrogen superpower to supply the German market with the much-needed energy carrier. While the hydrogen hype is marketed as a pathway facilitating the German and European green transition that is mutually beneficial for African interests, social movements and affected communities have been denouncing green colonialist tendencies of the hydrogen rush. This paper is centring these claims. Applying a heuristic of green colonialism along the lines of externalisation, enactment, expansion, exclusion and empowerment, we highlight colonial tendencies of the hydrogen rush in Namibia. While still in a nascent stadium, current developments indicate patterns to transform Southern economies according to European interest, which can then uphold their allegedly superior image as renewable energy pioneers. Our study indicates that the green hydrogen rush resembles a longue durée of (neo)colonial violence: while clinging to old colonial patterns, it takes advantage of the post-colonial state, and at the same time uses narratives of contemporary multiple crises to advance and legitimise a supposedly green, but intrinsically violent transition.
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Risse, B., Mueller, T., Türk, D., Winter, E., & Grote, U. (2026). Towards a green hydrogen economy: A review of financing mechanisms, drivers and barriers. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 231, 154849.
Abstract: Green hydrogen is essential for global decarbonization, but its adoption is constrained by high production costs and a lack of infrastructure. Large-scale investments are necessary to build a green hydrogen economy, but a gap remains between required and realized investments. This study provides an overview of green hydrogen’s financing mechanisms, drivers and barriers, using a mixed-methods review, complemented with the PESTLE framework. The findings show limited research on financing green hydrogen projects, but valuable insights are derived from renewable energy studies and grey literature. Currently, public funding and supportive policies are crucial. Findings also emphasize the multidimensional complexity of the green hydrogen economy with multiple interdependencies among influencing factors. Based on the synthesis of financing mechanisms, drivers and barriers, four areas of action are defined: institutional framework, techno-economic performance, market formation, and societal backing. For each area of action, implications for policymakers and industry stakeholders are derived.
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Ringel, M., Stöckigt, G., Shamon, H., & Vögele, S. (2024). Green hydrogen cooperation between Egypt and Europe: The perspective of locals in Suez and Port Said. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 79, 1501–1510.
Abstract: Hydrogen produced by renewable energy sources (green hydrogen) is at the centrepiece of European decarbonization strategies, necessitating large imports from third countries. Egypt potentially stands out as major production hub. While technical and economic viability are broadly discussed in literature, analyses of local acceptance are absent. This study closes this gap by surveying 505 locals in the Suez Canal Economic Zone (Port Said and Suez) regarding their attitudes towards renewable energy development and green hydrogen production. We find overall support for both national deployment and export to Europe. Respondents see a key benefit in rising income, thereby strongly underlying the economic argument. Improved trade relationships or improved political relationships are seen as potential benefits of export, but as less relevant for engaging in cooperation, putting a spotlight on local benefits. Our study suggests that the local population is more positive than negative towards the development and scaling up of green hydrogen projects in Egypt.
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