Green hydrogen as a driver of energy transition

Project description

Title: Global Hydrogen Diplomacy (H2-Diplo) - Hydrogen Diplomacy with Russia, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria and Angola
Commissioned by: German Federal Foreign Office
Country: Global, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, Angola
Lead executing agency: 

  • Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia – وزارة الخارجية
  • Ministry of Mineral Resources, Oil and Gas of Angola (MIREMPET) – Ministério dos Recursos Minerais, Petróleo e Gás Angola
  • Federal Ministry of Power (FMP) (Nigeria)

Overall term: 2021 to 2023

Context

Global demand for carbon-neutral and renewable energies impacts the economies of countries exporting fossil fuels.

Exporting countries such as Saudi Arabia, Nigeria and Angola could lose their economic power due to the global shift to decarbonisation.

Producing carbon-neutral green hydrogen could create opportunities for these countries to transition to a sustainable and green energy and fuel sector. They could make use of existing infrastructure to achieve this goal and play an important role in creating a global value chain for hydrogen.

Objective

Countries exporting fossil fuels could switch to export green hydrogen.

Approach

By creating Hydrogen Diplomacy Offices, the project promotes political dialogue on energy with countries exporting fossil fuels.

The dialogue is based on four core issues:

Firstly, the project supports countries exchanging ideas on hydrogen and power-to-X technologies. Secondly, the project provides advice on the risks and opportunities of hydrogen for the countries’ export industry. In addition, the German Federal Foreign Office and German embassies will advise the countries in question regarding topics and communications on foreign policy matters. Finally, it promotes cooperation with the private sector in the exporting countries Nigeria and Angola.

This raises awareness of the rising demand for green hydrogen among decision makers.

The dialogue formats initiate intergovernmental exchange and focus on decarbonisation goals and challenges regarding increasing demand for carbon-neutral products.

In addition, the project is carrying out studies on long-term sources of income and labour market development in the context of energy transition.

As at: November 2021