Introduction

This introductory chapter places Europe’s hydrogen ambition in the broader context of the evolving geopolitics of the transition to net zero. It highlights the growing geoeconomic rivalry among the world’s leading economies, such as the European Union, the United States, and China. This process is marked by the resurgence of state intervention in markets and industries as well as by the increasing attention paid by governments to supply chain resilience and asymmetric dependencies. Clean hydrogen has been part and parcel of these developments. The EU and many of its Member States view hydrogen as essential to their climate goals, industrial competitiveness, and energy security. As a result, Europe has played an active role in promoting a European hydrogen economy and an international hydrogen market. The chapter frames EU hydrogen policy as the interplay of interests at EU- and Member State level, which can be a source of both tensions and synergies. It also discusses how this is manifested in the EU’s external climate and energy policy and international partnerships. Finally, the chapter presents the structure of the edited volume, introduces the case studies and summarises the key analytical dimensions applied in individual chapters to examine the domestic and international components of European hydrogen policy.