Geopolitics of the Energy Transition - Hydrogen (GET H2)

This project is funded by the German Federal Foreign Office and examines the geopolitics of the global energy transformation with a focus on an emerging hydrogen economy.

It builds upon the completed project “Geopolitik der Energiewende” which took stock and focused on the EU’s evolving energy relations with important partner countries and regions. It advances and complements the previous project by examining and concentrating on the role hydrogen will play in re-drawing the geography of energy trade and altering the relations between traditional fossil fuel exporters, new emerging hydrogen producers and continuing import markets like Germany and the EU.

The German and EU hydrogen strategies recognized the crucial role hydrogen can play in the energy transition and emphasized the need for international cooperation and fostering the creation of a liquid and global market for it. The project will look at hydrogen produced from fossil fuels as well as renewable energies, analyze their respective value chains and perform scenario-based analysis on how to establish a mutually beneficial and smooth energy transition for Germany and the EU as well as selected hydrocarbon exporting countries in the MENA region, Africa and Central Asia/Russia. In this respect, another key part of the project will be to explore possible governance mechanisms to prevent a market ramp-up characterized by geopolitical competition, oligopolistic structures and fossil fuel lock-in effects.

Furthermore, the project cooperates with the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) in Potsdam, H2 Global, the German Development Agency (GIZ) and aims at establishing an international expert network of researchers in this field.

Ultimately the goal of the project is to assist German and European policymakers in anticipating the geopolitical consequences of a growing hydrogen economy and to present possible pathways for action.

Project duration: June 2021-December 2023

Contact person: Dr. Jacopo Pepe

Project funding: German Federal Foreign Office