Sustainable transformations? The political geographies of green hydrogen in the Global South

forthcoming

Green hydrogen is increasingly seen as a critical pillar of the global energy transition. Its appeal is also felt in the Global South, where countries seek to benefit from export opportunities, new infrastructures, and technological innovations. Yet, green hydrogen is predominantly discussed from technical and financial angles, prioritizing the experiences and interests of the Global North. Its political, societal, and spatial implications, particularly in more unequal Global South contexts, remain neglected and poorly understood. H2SOUTH addresses these insufficiencies by investigating the governance and spatial dimensions of green hydrogen's incipient deployment in the Global South, focusing on Brazil and India. Drawing on the interdisciplinary field of political geography, it conceptualizes green hydrogen systems as inherently political and spatial processes, embedded in prevailing–often uneven –power structures. H2SOUTH pursues two research objectives. The first investigates the ways in which green hydrogen governance is articulated in official political discourses, approaching the role of overall power relations. The second examines the making of green hydrogen spaces through specific investment sites, exploring their ground-level implications to host societies. H2SOUTH adopts an innovative multimethodological approach that aggregates topic modeling-based discourse analysis, social cartography, and qualitative techniques. It combines the study of governance frameworks with experiences and practices at the ground-level to further new, more complete understandings of green hydrogen, capturing its multifaceted, differentiated, and controversial consequences in and for the Global South. H2SOUTH’s impact will go beyond academia through dialogues with civil society, practitioners, and policymakers, raising awareness about the political and geographical implications of green hydrogen and offering policy directions towards more just energy transitions.