Fair Green Hydrogen: Chance or Chimera in Morocco, Niger and Senegal?
As countries start to seek alternatives to fossil gas as a fuel as well as for its other industrial uses, hydrogen will become a much-requested product. If it is to be produced sustainably, – hydrogen must be obtained from electrolysers using green (i.e. renewable) electricity. The production of green hydrogen, however, is extremely energy- and cost-intensive – and this will hardly change in the near future.
Green electricity is a valuable commodity. Available land and the raw materials required are scarce and often conflict-laden – both in Germany and elsewhere. Hydrogen production for Europe in the global South – without further accompanying measures – would impede decarbonisation in the Southern countries and risks not to become another resource exploited without any benefits for the majority of the population.
Using the example of three countries, Marocco, Niger and Senegal, this study examines the necessary conditions for hydrogen production to be beneficial to the economy and the population of these countries.
https://www.rosalux.de/fileadmin/rls_uploads/pdfs/sonst_publikationen/Studie_Fair_Hydrogen.pdf