The Discursive Production of Hydrogen Imaginaries and their Spatialities in France and Germany

Hydrogen is framed as a key energy source to advance the low-carbon transition by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and fossil fuel dependency. In the European Union (EU), France and Germany have promoted green hydrogen as a desirable energy future imaginary through climate discourses and energy policies aimed at establishing national and international spaces for hydrogen production, transportation and consumption. Connecting research on socio-technical imaginaries and energy geographies, this article examines the discursive production of the French and Germany governments’ hydrogen imaginaries and their spatial inequalities. Through critical discourse analysis, this work explores major discursive storylines articulated by Germany and France to legitimize their hydrogen imaginaries and represent socio-spatial relations. Doing so shows that these storylines (re)produce the notion that green hydrogen is a silver bullet for a carbon-neutral future while largely overlooking the multiple risks and inequalities associated to them. This is visible in how Germany’s strategy on securing hydrogen imports from the Global South and France’s approach on domestic hydrogen give rise to disparities regarding the control over hydrogen infrastructures and the distribution of the burdens of hydrogen development. By elucidating the significance of storylines in making hydrogen imaginaries and uneven hydrogen spaces, this research contributes to debates on the governance of hydrogen futures.