ABSTRACT
Europe's drive to decarbonise has brought hydrogen—especially renewable (“green”) hydrogen—into the centre of its energy transition. This chapter analyses the emerging Europe–Africa hydrogen partnership and its potential to align European demand with Africa's exceptional renewable resources. It maps the geopolitical, economic, and legal architecture shaping this relationship, focusing on international law, regional agreements such as the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), and the interaction between the European Union's hydrogen strategy and African initiatives like the Africa Green Hydrogen Alliance. Particular attention is given to certification regimes, trade and investment law, infrastructure governance, and the role of non-European actors. The chapter evaluates how these frameworks can enable—or impede—market formation, equitable value capture, and long-term offtake. Two tests guide the analysis: (i) justice risks of “green colonialism” absent enforceable safeguards for land and water rights, labour standards, biodiversity, and community benefit; and (ii) environmental credibility anchored in life-cycle, performance-based standards. The conclusion argues that sequencing exports behind domestic uses is essential: only a rule-based, standards-led compact can make African states rule-makers rather than rule-takers in the global hydrogen economy.
