The discursive practices on hydrogen in the European Union (EU) and Germany

Within the European Union (EU) and its member states, hydrogen is assumed to be key for decarbonising different sectors in the fight against climate change. Most notably, Germany has embarked on efforts aiming for a large-scale use of hydrogen. Hence, state and private actors in Germany and Europe have engaged in a variety of attempts, strategies and interest, specifically after the EU and Germany have announced specific hydrogen strategies recently. Against this backdrop, this paper seeks to provide an analysis on the debates generated by Europe´s bet on hydrogen, focusing specifically on Germany and the EU in the years 2019-2021. Drawing on a discourse analysis that is based on more than 32 000 media reports generated through the database Nexis for the discourse in Europe, and a specific analysis of German key media outlets, it analyses the debates on hydrogen in the European Union and one of its key member states from various perspectives and with a focus on a wide range of actors. The paper will specifically focus on debates emerging from the release of the hydrogen strategies of the EU and Germany. Building on a broad set of indicators, it puts an emphasis on discourses on the organisation, application, and opportunities of hydrogen as assigned by private and state actors and engages with debates on third partner countries, legislation processes, and strategic cooperation in the EU and Germany. It thus engages with the discursive practice of both the EU´s and Germany’s hydrogen approach in a complex environment with diverging interests of stakeholders, and thus examines debates that still need further empirical research. Preliminary findings suggest that a debate between blue and green hydrogen, technology openness, and an emphasis on third partner countries play an important role, while the transport and organisation of hydrogen constitute other discourses in which state actors, industrial actors, but increasingly also climate activists embark.