A Review of a Green Hydrogen Technologies and Their Role in Enabling Sustainable Energy Access in Remote and Off-Grid Areas

Clean and dependable electricity access continues to be a challenge in off-grid and isolated regions, especially within Sub-Saharan Africa. Green hydrogen, produced through electrolysis with renewable energy, offers a zero-emission solution for energy storage as well as supply. It offers long term storage and could decouple energy generation from consumption. This evaluation follows the PRISMA 2020 approach to assess the technologies of green hydrogen, solutions for hybrid integration, as well as viability for deployment. Out of the 175 studies that were initially reviewed, 59 reports and peer-reviewed papers were selected for further analysis. Hydrogen generation routes grey, blue, green, as well as aqua, are compared with reference to carbon intensity, maturity, as well as environmental performance. The types of electrolyzers, including the type AEL, the type PEM, type SOEC, as well as new type AEM electrolyzers, are compared by reference to efficiency, costs, together with off grid applicability. Solar as well as wind energy integration within hybrid systems is explored, with focus directed towards energy equilibrium, scaling of the systems, together with storage optimization. In accordance with techno-economic analysis, the levelized cost of green hydrogen could re-duce from the current €3.5-6.0/kg to €1.0-1.5/kg by 2050 within high-resource locations. Green hydrogen has virtually zero emissions, as per life cycle analysis, however, there is challenge with reference to water usage together with required materials. Regional analysis recommends the potential for South Africa, Namibia, together with Kenya to serve as the green hydrogen centers owing to robust policy support together with renewable endowments. The analysis concludes developing technologies, advance materials, favorable policies, together with equitable funding are necessary to hasten the deployment of green hydrogen within underserved communities.