Elise Muller: Full steam ahead for hydrogen: the socio-technical trajectory of hydrogen deployment across France between 2010 and 2020

In recent years, ‘green’ hydrogen has been touted as a ‘miracle solution’ for the energy transition that could spark an ‘industrial and energy revolution’. The aim of this thesis is to put the idea of a ‘green hydrogen revolution’ into perspective. It seeks to examine the changes in infrastructure, practices and governance that the introduction of this energy carrier may bring about within the French energy system. With this in mind, the thesis seeks to describe the deployment of hydrogen in France and its regions from the 2010s to early 2022, through two dimensions: multi-level governance and socio-technical controversies. Considering that the trajectory of hydrogen is the result of a techno-economic construct, the thesis examines how actors at different levels approach the subject and the strategies that emerge from this.

To account for our analysis at the interface between socio-technical and socio-political approaches, we draw on the concept of socio-technical configuration. This concept describes more or less stable trans-scalar assemblages of heterogeneous elements around which networks of actors form, giving rise to different conceptions of how to plan their deployment.
This thesis demonstrates that hydrogen does not herald a ‘revolution’ for the French energy sector. The technical and economic difficulties encountered, the successive challenges raised, and the re-appropriation of the issue by traditional players in the energy sector are all factors that contribute to reducing the scope for more radical transformation.

Members of the jury:
Anne-Cécile Douillet, University Professor, CERAPS; Rapporteur:
Thomas Reverdy, University Professor, PACTE; Rapporteur:
Annabelle Brisse, PhD, EIFER until 31 December 2021, then Hynamics; Examiner:
Alain Nadai, Research Director, CIRED Examiner
François-Mathieu Ppupeau, Research Director, LATTS Thesis supervisor
Caroline Gallez, Research Director, Université Gustave Eiffel Co-supervisor