As countries work to lower their carbon impact and shift to renewable energy, the world energy map is shifting dramatically. And at the center of this transformation is green hydrogen energy corridors — an environmentally clean, renewable energy carrier produced by splitting water through electrolysis powered by renewable electricity. Green hydrogen has been promoted not only as an essential ingredient to achieve decarbonization, but also as an opportunity to create energy cooperation between Global North and South. The future looks like energy corridors connecting areas of the Global South rich in renewable resources to energy-consuming economies in the Global North.
Green Hydrogen: Its Role in the Energy Transition
Green hydrogen energy corridors have the potential to transform a world that is looking to reduce the impacts of climate change. Unlike grey or blue hydrogen, which are based on natural gas and generate carbon emissions, green hydrogen is completely clean, emitting no greenhouse gases in either production or use. It can play an as-yet under-appreciated role as an energy carrier, usable in sectors that have been harder to decarbonize, such as heavy industry, shipping and aviation.
With governments around the world setting net-zero emissions targets for 2050 and beyond, green hydrogen is positioning itself as an essential enabler of these ambitions. Global demand for hydrogen is predicted to grow sixfold by 2050, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). Green hydrogen project investments soared worldwide in 2023, with more than $240-billion worth of projects announced, from production to storage and transportation infrastructure.
Southern Hemisphere: An Energy Powerhouse
Resources for green hydrogen are going to turn the Global South into a “green hydrogen powerhouse,” especially those regions that have been stuck in fossil fuel demand including North Africa, Latin America, and Australia. Regions with plenty of sun and wind and low-cost land provide the best conditions to produce green hydrogen at a competitive price. For example, countries like Morocco and Egypt in North Africa have already launched the development of large solar and wind farms that could be dedicated to the production of green hydrogen and take advantage of their geographic proximity to European markets.
An ambitious project involves the proposed energy corridor between North Africa and Southern Europe. The initiative has been called the “Green Hydrogen Corridor,” and involves the export of green hydrogen harvested in North Africa to European countries through submariner pipelines. The European Union will import 10 million tones of green hydrogen by 2030 as it undergoes its Green Deal and Repower EU plan, and North Africa also has a crucial role to play in meeting this demand.
And so too, Latin American countries such as Chile and Brazil are using their natural endowments to carve out strong positions in the global market for green hydrogen. Chile’s Atacama Desert boasts the world’s highest solar intensity, while Brazil has high running areas along the coast with optimum wind conditions, making both countries the best candidates in the world for giant green hydrogen projects.
Global North: A Market Ripe for Clean Energy
The Global North—industrialized countries in Europe, North America and parts of Asia—has high energy demands and strong decarbonization targets. While many of these countries are blessed with abundant renewable energy, others are faced with limitations, such as geothermal energy, high population density, and limited land availability, which will make domestic large-scale production of green hydrogen a challenge.
To counter this, the Global North has begun to rely upon energy imports from Global South nations. The formation of energy corridors allows for the smooth transport of green hydrogen across continents, ensuring mutual benefit for both regions—one as a producer and the other as a consumer. The attached signifies a wave of energy that fuels nations this collaboration between nations ultimately benefits the economic cooperation of nations.
For example, Germany, whose hydrogen economy strategy is among the most ambitious of all, has signed deals with the likes of Morocco and Namibia to ensure that it has access to the green hydrogen it needs. So too, the European Union is actively partnering with nations in the Global South to construct the needed infrastructure to move hydrogen through pipelines and shipping routes.
Difficulties Encountered in Developing Energy Routes
However, in spite of the great promise, green hydrogen energy corridors between the Global North and South carry challenges. Significant investment is needed for projects such as pipelines, storage facilities, and large-scale electrolyzes. The Hydrogen Council estimates that to bring green hydrogen production and distribution up to scale globally by 2030, $700 billion in investments will be required.
Technological barriers with hydrogen storage and transport also remain an issue. Hydrogen is volatile and must be stored at very low temperatures or at high pressure, complicating logistics further. International energy corridors will only be successful if cost-effective storage solutions can be developed.
Alignment of policies and creating regulatory frameworks between the Global North and South is also critical. There is a need for harmonized standards around the production, certification and trade in green hydrogen to ensure transparency and predictability in the market.
Hydrogen Energy Corridors: Economic and Environmental Advantages
Green hydrogen energy corridors provide significant economic and environmental opportunities. For the Global South, this is an opportunity to lift economic growth by monetizing its renewable energy assets. It has the potential to catalyze job creation, build infrastructure, transfer technology, and contribute to the sustainable development agenda in these regions.
Green hydrogen imports offer the Global North an avenue towards energy security and climate goals. Diversification of energy sources and a reduction of dependence on fossil fuels allow industrialised countries to cut emissions and take quicker steps towards a lower carbon economy.
The environmental impact is just as profound. Green hydrogen has no carbon emissions during combustion and could therefore be a key to decarbonising sectors that currently rely on the burning of fossil fuels. Additionally, because green hydrogen is one of the most important levers that can be used to reach the goals of the Paris Agreement in terms of keeping temperature rises below 1.5 degrees Celsius, the need for global efforts towards the maintenance of temperature rises should provide real additionality and effort on the part of governments in adopting and implementing green hydrogen.
Green Hydrogen and Its Geopolitics
Geopolitics has got a new dimension in the form of green hydrogen and energy corridors. It’s the hoarse voice of the old world, the traditional energy superpowers that have been dependent on exporting oil and gas but now are standing in the line of the past of how the world energy system is changing. On the other hand, regions with sufficient renewable resources, such as North Africa and Latin America, are emerging as strategic green hydrogen exporters.
This transition also offers the chance to reduce geopolitical tensions surrounding energy assets. Fossil fuels are concentrated in a few regions, while renewable energy resources are more evenly distributed, allowing for broader international cooperation. Green hydrogen corridors could act as a bridge between the Global North and the Global South, enhancing our mutual interdependence and diplomatic relations.
Future Directions and Summary
Governments, industries, and international organizations must work together around the world—including between the Global North and Global South that include emerging markets—to realize the potential of green hydrogen energy corridors of the future. All this would mean scaling up the production of green hydrogen, developing efficient transportation systems and ensuring equitable partnerships to enable the full potential of this transformative energy source.
According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), green hydrogen could be responsible for as much as 12% of global energy use by 2050 if the investment and policy conditions allow for it. Green hydrogen has emerged as a beacon of hope for a cleaner, fairer energy future, with dual promises of decarbonization and economic development.
The scheme Global North and South green hydrogen energy corridors will together to transfer opportunity, innovation and sustainability through the transfer of energy. With the world on a war footing against climate change, green hydrogen, on the other hand, will be the key to leapfrogging energy divides globally and creating a cleaner, greener future.