A new factor in the equation? Governance of clean hydrogen in Africa

Around the world, a clean hydrogen rush is underway, and many companies, investors, governments, and environmentalists are increasingly unifying in their view of clean hydrogen as an energy vector that could foster the global energy and industrial transitions. The necessity of curtailing greenhouse gas emissions, the declining costs of renewables, and the feasible applications of hydrogen in energy and industrial sectors (particularly in the hard-toabate sectors), is shifting the pursuits and potential growth of clean hydrogen upwards in political and business spheres. In the African continent, clean hydrogen is also emerging as a ‘new’ factor in the pursuit of energy security, energy transition and green industrialization, fostered by several new international partnerships and cooperation. In this paper, we explore the diverse roles and governance of this ‘new’ factor in the equation of existing pursuits for energy transition and industrialization and its implications in the continent, discussing its geographies, opportunities and risks. We situate our argument on conceptual debates on governance and geopolitics of energy transition and industrial growth and base our analysis on expert interviews and thorough document analysis.