Energizing Tomorrow: Exploring Poland's Socio-Technological Imaginaries in Hydrogen Technologies

Decarbonisation is one of the most important challenges of the 21st century. Hydrogen is identified as a key element of the energy and climate transition, which is the main mechanism for achieving the objectives of the Paris Agreement and the European Green Deal. Effective decarbonisation will require new energy technologies, but also new ways of understanding language, vision and discursive policies relatedto emerging innovations and transformations.

Sociotechnical imaginaries (STIs) is a concept aimed at understanding the creation of a technological future as a key element of social life. STIs can be defined as collective imaginations, beliefs and social concepts that influence the design, development and implementation oftechnology. STIs understood as visions of a desirable future are: collectively sustained, institutionally stabilized and realized in the publicsphere. STIs allow for the conceptualisation of possible forms of the future in the study of energy transisition.

The study is based on 24 individual in-depth interviews (IDI) with experts representing industry, transport, research and developmentinstitutions, public administration, industry associations and institutions. The purpose of the research was to identify 1) STIs at the national level, present in the development of technologies in Poland and their nature, 2) key actants and factors involved in the process of creating and stabilising hydrogen imaginers, 3) actors involved in creating, maintaining and legitimising STIs.

Preliminary research results show that the identified imaginaries related to the development of hydrogen technologies associate to the decarbonisation of the Polish socio-technical system. Moreover, the STI are associated with different visions of development models of polish hydrogen society&economy.

Literature review shows that STIs have been repeatedly used to identify STIs in the context of the energy transition in many countries around the world. Original contribution of research is to focus on the area of hygrogen economy&society in case of Poland using STI concept.