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Short abstract:

This paper explores Green Hydrogen fairs as sites where the future and value a new green fuel is enacted. We examine three operations as constitutive of these sites: the creation of atmospheres of imminence, the showcasing of prototypes, and the production of renders and representations.

Long abstract:

STS studies have long been interested in exploring technology fairs as sites in which the value and future of potential technologies are orchestrated. Fairs represent "total social moments" where actors, artifacts, and imaginaries of techno futures are performed and brought into the present. Drawing on ethnographic material and archival work, this paper examines 4 Green Hydrogen fairs and world summits held in Chile since 2019. In doing so, we offer empirical and theoretical insights into how these events serve as crucial sites in which the future and value of Green Hydrogen are made actionable in the present as an object of investment and government. We examine three anticipatory practices as constitutive elements of green hydrogen fairs (Anderson, 2010). We first discuss how this site involves the delicate crafting of an atmosphere of imminence and potentiality around green hydrogen-related new technologies and resources. We second explore the central role of prototypes and demonstrations as artifacts for materializing and sensing potential green hydrogen futures. Thirdly, we explore the showcase of visual representations, renders, and maps as devices for orchestrating the economic and environmental value of Green H2. We conclude by highlighting the role of technology fairs as central sites for enacting new green resources and technologies as objects of investment and speculation in green capitalism.