Synthesising Current Knowledge on the Renewables Pull: A Systematic Literature Review

Sascha Samadi, Andreas Fischer, Philipp C. Verpoort, Finn Müller-Hansen and Falko Ueckerdt

EconStor Conference Papers from ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics

Abstract: With the transition to renewable energy, global production cost patterns for industrial materials and products are shifting, potentially creating what has been termed the renewables pull. This paper conducts a systematic review to identify and synthesise the growing body of scientific literature on this emerging topic. Out of 4,813 studies screened, 81 peer-reviewed journal articles were found to be relevant. Most of these were published after 2020, with the number of publications increasing every year since then – indicating rapidly growing research interest in the field. Most studies originate from countries such as Germany or Australia, which are also identified as a potential major importer or exporter, respectively, within newly emerging renewable-based trade patterns. In contrast, while Japan and South Korea are frequently identified as potential importers, relatively few studies originate from these countries. Most of the identified literature conducts techno-economic analysis assessing the location-specific production costs of hydrogen-based derivatives and materials such as ammonia, methanol or steel produced using solar and wind electricity. Overall, the existing literature regards the renewables pull as potentially significant, although several studies emphasise that its realised impact depends on complementary locational factors, such as financing costs and policy context. Future research should expand the methodological approaches applied to this young and rapidly evolving field to assess the implications of the renewables pull for global production locations and value chain configurations, trade dynamics, and broader macro- and socioeconomic as well as geopolitical developments.

Keywords: renewables pull; green relocation; green leakage; renewable energy; net-zero transition; locational factors; energy-intensive industry; decarbonization (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: F18 L61 L65 O14 O33 O57 Q42 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Note: This article accompanies an oral presentation held at the conference on “Industrial decarbonization and hydrogen: The politics and economics of sustainable structural transformation” in Potsdam, Germany on October 28th, 2025. The conference was jointly organised by the German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS), the Centre for Sustainable Structural Transformation (CSST), and the Research Institute for Sustainability (RIFS). We thank the organisers of the conference for accepting our work for oral presentation and for the fruitful discussion.
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:zbw:esconf:331736

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