abstract
Green hydrogen is essential for global decarbonization, but production potential and application demand vary significantly between countries. Thus, hydrogen partnerships are evolving worldwide, but there is a lack of literature evaluating the broader economic perspective of such partnerships. We combine techno-economic and macroeconomic analyses to address this gap, using a case study of Morocco and Germany. The study focuses on (i) a techno-economic analysis; (ii) the influence of weighted average cost of capital; (iii) the country-specific macroeconomic potential to benefit from green hydrogen; and (iv) the economic and area use impacts of different cooperation scenarios. The findings show that both countries are technically capable to meet Germany’s projected hydrogen demand, but this would imply substantial requirements for land and offshore area. Under country-specific weighted average cost of capital assumptions and when incorporating transport costs, production in Germany is more cost-effective than importing hydrogen from Morocco. Moreover, both countries can benefit economically from green hydrogen deployment, despite different industrial structures. The analysis of three cooperation scenarios emphasizes that a collaborative approach can reduce land-use requirements and generate mutual economic benefits. Based on these findings, implications are derived for policymakers in hydrogen-exporting and hydrogen-importing countries. Overall, the study contributes to a better understanding of green hydrogen partnerships.