Green hydrogen regions: emergent spatial imaginaries and material politics of energy transition

Abstract

This paper analyses the discursive and material politics of energy transition, focusing on promotion of Australian industrial regions as ‘green hydrogen hubs’. Regions are key spatial imaginaries in transition projects promoted by state-capitalist coalitions. First-to-market investments target regions with suitable infrastructures and workforces, anticipating future decarbonised energy markets. Yet, far from an orderly transition, such projects confront competing regional imaginaries and conflicts across governance scales, with hydrogen’s troublesome material limitations precipitating hedging tactics among established energy-intensive firms. Scholars of decarbonisation, ‘green capitalism’ and energy transitions must pay closer attention to materiality and the complexity of regional contestations and asymmetries.