Unlocking the synergies of cooperation: A broader economic perspective on green hydrogen infrastructure in Morocco and Germany

Green hydrogen is essential for global decarbonization, but production potential and application demand vary significantly between countries. Thus, green hydrogen partnerships are evolving worldwide, but few studies evaluate the broader economic perspective of such partnerships. This study combines techno-economic and macroeconomic analyses to address this gap, using a case study of Morocco and Germany. It focuses on (i) a techno-economic analysis; (ii) the influence of country- and technology-specific investment risks; (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 green hydrogen demand, but this would imply substantial area requirements in 2050: 30.6% of Germany's offshore area for full domestic production and around 1.5% of available land in Morocco when all hydrogen is imported from Morocco. Under country-specific weighted average cost of capital assumptions, and when incorporating transport costs, importing green hydrogen from Morocco is 32.0% more expensive than production in Germany for 2035 and 12.4% for 2050. 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, including more than 400,000 jobs in Morocco and around 100,000 in Germany. 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. • Combined techno- and macroeconomic analysis with country-specific financing costs. • Importing hydrogen has a cost premium of 32.0% in 2035 and 12.4% in 2050. • Financing costs account for up to 35.9% LCOH in Morocco, but only 10.8% in Germany. • Cooperation could create more than 400,000 jobs in Morocco and 100,000 in Germany. • Cooperation reduces offshore area demand in Germany from 30.6% to 9.2%.