Green hydrogen, extractivism and patents:

an energy transition for no real change?

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22478/ufpb.2447-9837.2025.n19.72050

Abstract

In recent years, in South America, competition for access to and control of natural resources has increasingly focused on water, mainly for the production of “green hydrogen”. Given the challenges of climate change, this technology is presented as “the solution” to decarbonize various sectors. Drawing on the concepts of knowledge economy and extractivism,and framed in the theoretical perspectives of the Anthropocene and Capitalocene, our work aims to show a transnational development model that infringes upon territories. Our thesis, based on a review of qualified literature and the systematisation of information obtained from international databases, argues that the strong emphasis on water use is inherent to a global social metabolism grounded in an unequal North-South ecological and technological exchange, where intellectual property rights play a central role.
KEYWORDS:
Green hydrogen. Extractivism. Knowledge economy. Patents.

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Published

2025-09-26

How to Cite

Terradas-Cobas, L., Gutiérrez, O., & Panario, D. (2025). Green hydrogen, extractivism and patents: : an energy transition for no real change?. Altera Journal of Anthropology, (19), 1–35. https://doi.org/10.22478/ufpb.2447-9837.2025.n19.72050

Issue

Section

Dossiê Knowledge, Bodies and Territories in the Anthropocene