World Bank unveils hydrogen partnership at COP27

The World Bank unveiled its Hydrogen for Development (H4D) partnership at COP27 in Egypt on November 15, setting in motion a global initiative to expand the deployment of low-carbon hydrogen in developing countries.

“Low-carbon hydrogen can have a significant role in countries seeking to accelerate their clean energy transition,” World Bank president David Malpass said. “Our new hydrogen partnership will enable developing countries to prepare low-carbon hydrogen projects and boost energy security and resilience for their people while lowering emissions.”

H4D is intended to catalyse significant public and private financing for hydrogen investments over the next few years. It will foster capacity building and regulatory solutions, business models, and technologies toward the roll out of low-carbon hydrogen in developing countries.

Low-carbon hydrogen provides a pathway to decarbonise hard-to-abate heavy industries producing more than 25% of global CO₂ emissions. Hydrogen fuel can become a viable replacement for diesel in transportation and has the potential to provide long-term storage options underpinning the intermittent output of solar and wind.

For developing and emerging economies, hydrogen also has the potential to generate export revenues, promote food security through its use as a feedstock in the production of ammonia fertilisers, provide energy to meet local demand, decarbonise domestic industrial and smelting sectors and provide energy access to remote regions.