Are French people ready to accept hydrogen underground storage? An answer through the distance from object model

France's response to the climate crisis includes an ambitious policy to make hydrogen a major component of the energy mix. One of the challenges that must be overcome to achieve this goal is to find a practicable and socially acceptable way of storing hydrogen. The present study investigated potential resistance to hydrogen use in France by exam-ining social representations of hydrogen and its underground storage in salt caverns. To this end, we investigate how distance from the object (knowledge, experience, involve-ment) affects dimensions that contribute to people's perceptions of, and therefore the social acceptability of, hydrogen as a renewable energy. Results provide valuable insights into French people's perceptions of hydrogen and its underground storage in salt caverns. They also highlight the individual processes, and their intertwining within the social context, that help to shape public opposition to projects aimed at accomplishing the widely accepted need to switch to renewable energies.& COPY; 2023 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.