Jean-Baptiste Fressoz

Jean-Baptiste Fressoz is a CNRS Research Fellow at the Center for Historical Research (CRH) within the School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences (EHESS) in Paris, where he works with the GRHEN research team. His office is located at 54, boulevard Raspail, 75006 Paris.

His primary research interests include environmental history, the history of the Anthropocene, modern disinhibitions, and the history of climate knowledge. Fressoz approaches energy history from a critical perspective that challenges conventional narratives about energy transitions, arguing that energy systems have historically expanded rather than replaced one another in what he terms 'symbiotic energy histories.' His work examines the political, social and material dimensions of energy systems throughout history, with particular focus on how historical narratives shape contemporary climate and energy policy.

Fressoz has received numerous prestigious awards for his work, including the Senate History Book Prize, Nouvel Observateur Prize, Foundation for Political Ecology Prize, Turgot Jury Prize, and recognition as 'best science book 2024' by both The Economist and Financial Times for his book 'More and more and more. An All-Consuming History of Energy.' He also received the Biella Prize 2020 (Italy) for 'La terra, la historia e noi. The Antropoceno event.'

He actively supervises doctoral students working on diverse topics including meteorite collections, energy planning in Europe, military technologies, forestry knowledge, wood modernization in West Germany, hydrogen in energy systems, and environmental history of large infrastructures. His recent publications reveal a consistent focus on challenging the concept of 'energy transition' while developing historical frameworks for understanding contemporary climate challenges through the lens of material history and energy systems.