Even though there are still uncertainties regarding hydrogen’s overall climate-friendly impact, low-carbon hydrogen (‘green’ and ‘blue’) is perceived as the ultimate solution to “fix” the climate crisis. Worldwide, countries are positioning themselves to be part of this fundamental energy transformation. Also some countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), above all Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Oman, heavily invest in hydrogen infrastructure and development to become a global hub in future. Instead of discussing economic opportunities or barriers, I turn to the to the political repercussions and argue that low-carbon hydrogen is perceived as the ‘holy grain’ for the Gulf states to remain politically relevant and influential in a climate-constrained world. By using the concept of technopolitics, the paper seeks to assess how this hype around hydrogen perfectly suits the authoritarian, top-down, techno-optimistic approach of the Gulf states’ weak/soft sustainability agenda. Inspired by the idea of framing the Gulf states as “technostates” as Toby C. Jones’ did in his seminal work more than a decade ago, I show the (external) dependence on cutting-edge hydrogen technology and its instrumentalization as means of “political authority and credibility” (Jones 2010, 15). In so doing, the paper adds an important social science perspective to the rapidly growing but mostly apolitical literature on energy transition in the region. Going also beyond the national state level, the paper further sketch out how the quest for hydrogen accelerate regional dynamics that are already in place. Exclusive access and control over hydrogen technology puts these countries in an advantageous position vis-à-vis other neighboring states that will most likely result in greater geopolitical shifts. Ultimately, it will potentially increase intra-GCC frictions and amplify regional inequalities between ‘winner’ and ‘losers’.