Shipping the sunshine? A critical research agenda on the global hydrogen transition

Abstract

Large amounts of low-carbon hydrogen imports from the Global South are needed for the hydrogen transition in Germany and the EU. In an unequal global system, it is far from certain that the promised financial, technological and socio-economic benefits will materialise and outweigh the costs for the Global South countries who supply the precious energy resource to northern economies. To strengthen social science perspectives in hydrogen research, we sketch the contours of a critical research agenda on the global hydrogen transition.