H2 Media - Hydrogen in German print media

Abstract

Hydrogen is being discussed in political discourse as one of the key technologies for the energy transition and social transformation. Stakeholders from various industrial sectors also see this as an opportunity to enable the necessary industrial transformation with the aim of achieving climate neutrality. At the same time, politicians and industry believe that hydrogen has the potential to address recurring economic problems in the German economy. But how is hydrogen being discussed in social discourse? What issues are being discussed in connection with hydrogen? What potential and challenges are attributed to hydrogen? Who has a say in this discourse and how do these actors assess hydrogen in terms of sustainability and innovative capacity? How can the development and positioning of the players in hydrogen policy and industry be expected? In order to analyse the social discourse with a focus on these research questions, the content of journalistic news media is the focus of this BMBF-funded project, as they both depict further social debates and influence them through their own reporting.