Between green extractivism and energy justice: competing strategies in South Africa’s hydrogen transition in the context of climate crisis

The global race for green hydrogen is not just about decarbonisation, but also about power and profit. Examining the formation of a political project around an emerging hydrogen economy in South Africa, this article shows that a hydrogen transition is fundamentally contested. Employing (neo-)Gramscian hegemony theory and historical materialist policy analysis, it delineates four competing hydrogen initiatives in the policy debate: green extractivism, green developmentalism, fossilism and energy justice. The findings indicate the dominance of green extractivism, which prioritises the export of green hydrogen to Europe and reproduces patterns of neocolonialism and unequal ecological exchange. Contestations arise both from reactionary forces clinging to fossil fuels as well as from initiatives pursuing justice-centred transitions through green developmentalism and energy justice. This study contributes to the debate on justice in the global energy transition by highlighting alternative transition pathways in the global South that challenge green extractivism through sovereign industrial development and energy justice.