Hydrogen is experiencing a resurgence in energy transition debates. Before representing a solution, however, the existing hydrogen economy is still a climate change headache: over 99 % of production depends on fossil fuels, oil refining accounts for 42 % of demand, and its transportation is intertwined with fossil infrastructure, like natural gas pipelines. This article investigates the path-dependent dynamics shaping the hydrogen economy and its interconnections with the oil and gas industry. It draws on the global production networks (GPN) approach and political economy research to provide a comprehensive review of current and prospective end-uses of hydrogen, modes of transport, networks of industrial actors and state strategies, along the major production facilities and holders of intellectual property rights. The results presented in this article suggest that the superimposition of private agendas may jeopardise the viability of future energy systems and requires counterbalancing forces to override the negative consequences of path-dependent energy transitions.

中文翻译：

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氢经济有多“清洁”？追踪氢和化石燃料之间的联系

氢在能源转型争论中重新兴起。然而，在提出解决方案之前，现有的氢经济仍然是气候变化的一个难题：99%以上的生产依赖于化石燃料，炼油占需求的42%，其运输与天然气管道等化石基础设施交织在一起。本文研究了塑造氢经济的路径依赖动态及其与石油和天然气行业的相互关系。它利用全球生产网络（GPN）方法和政治经济学研究，对氢的当前和未来最终用途、运输方式、工业参与者网络和国家战略以及主要生产设施和持有者进行了全面审查。知识产权。本文提出的结果表明，私人议程的叠加可能会危及未来能源系统的生存能力，并且需要制衡力量来克服路径依赖型能源转型的负面后果。