At a time when Europe faces climate disruption, energy insecurity, and a faltering green transition, Economic History of the European Energy Industry offers a timely reminder that today’s energy challenges are rooted in decisions and systems shaped over two centuries. Moving beyond purely technical or policy narratives, the volume situates current dilemmas within the long-term evolution of European energy infrastructures, markets, and institutions. Focusing on the rise and transformation of manufactured and natural gas in France, Italy, and Spain, it examines how energy systems were built, financed, and contested amid industrialization, urbanization, state-market tensions, and transnational capital flows. This collective book highlights the roles of gas networks, public utilities, and foreign investors in shaping consumption patterns and spatial inequalities across different national contexts. Drawing on rich archival research and a comparative framework, the volume offers historical depth on persistent issues like fossil fuel dependency, energy sovereignty, and the complex politics of decarbonization. It reveals that the shift to renewables is not a clean break but a response constrained by enduring legacies and power dynamics—making this an essential guide to understanding Europe’s present energy crossroads.

The book compellingly challenges conventional views of Europe’s energy past and present, showing that energy transitions are neither linear nor purely technological but deeply rooted in historical trajectories shaped by national institutions, political ideologies, industrial strategies, and international influences. The rise of manufactured gas, its rivalry with electricity, and the eventual dominance of natural gas were driven not only by efficiency or market forces but by contested decisions among municipalities, private investors, and states. Focusing on Latin Europe—France, Italy, and Spain—it highlights a distinctive path marked by foreign capital dependence, delayed integration, and strong regulatory asymmetries, setting it apart from Northern Europe’s experience. Energy infrastructures emerge as expressions of state power and modernization tools, yet are often constrained by technological and geopolitical factors. Another key argument is that nineteenth- and twentieth-century choices—such as centralized grids and fossil fuel supply chains—have long-lasting effects that limit today’s policy options. Wartime disruptions and postwar reconstruction significantly shaped consumption patterns, territorial inequalities, and institutional resilience. Finally, the book frames Europe’s recent energy reorientation following the 2022 Russian war in Ukraine, not as a rupture but as a continuation of longstanding tensions between energy security, sovereignty, and ecological ambitions. Through this comparative, diachronic lens, it reveals why Europe’s green transition remains politically and technically complex, demanding a historically informed approach.

Structured into 12 chapters plus an index, the book begins with a strong introductory chapter offering a comprehensive literature review and framing the volume’s historical and comparative approach. Chapter 2 examines Europe’s energy transitions, showing how shifts from biomass to coal, oil, and renewables were shaped by technological and ecological dynamics—not just resource availability. It contrasts Britain’s early coal dominance with continental Europe’s later, more technology-driven adoption and examines the impacts of biomass scarcity. The chapter details the post-1950 oil transition, showing Western Europe’s rapid uptake—supported by the Marshall Plan and U.S. influence—contrasted with Eastern Europe’s continued coal reliance under Soviet planning. The 1973 oil crisis exposed fossil fuel vulnerabilities, framing the green transition as urgent but fraught with technical, economic, and social challenges. While effective, the chapter might have more fully addressed social justice concerns. Still, it lays out a compelling historical framework of energy shifts to contemporary challenges, offering crucial context for the volume.

Chapters 3 to 6 trace the rise of gas and electricity in France and Spain, examining how innovation, capital flows, and public messaging shaped the sector. The Paris journal Le Gaz (founded in 1857) provides rich detail on how the gas industry initially resisted electric lighting but adapted through innovation and advertising. In Spain, electrification advanced unevenly, with local monopolies and conditions creating complex energy mixes. French industrialist Charles Lebon was central to early Spanish gas lighting, and by 1901, Spain had 79 gas factories—many of which were foreign-owned. Fierce marketing linked energy use to modern comfort, with electricity eventually surpassing gas in cultural prominence by the interwar years. Foreign capital played a crucial early role but retreated post–WWI amidst rising nationalism and geopolitical tensions, prompting nationalization and consolidation of the Spanish gas sector. These chapters reveal how technology, politics, and culture intersected during pivotal transitions.

Chapters 7 to 9 chart divergent wartime and postwar gas sector developments in Latin Europe. France’s early industrialization supported a more integrated energy system; Spain lagged behind with a fragmented grid and reliance on hydropower. Political instability and disparate foreign investments shaped divergent paths. While gas consumption persisted through wartime in France and the United Kingdom due to heavy state intervention, Italy’s system nearly collapsed, and Spain’s Francoist autarkic policies limited recovery. Portugal, neutral in the war, saw Lisbon’s gas use triple due to fuel substitution. Postwar, Spain’s strong Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) links to North Africa failed to boost EU integration. Weak French interconnections, failed pipeline diplomacy (1955–83), underused infrastructures [Calahorra–Larrau (1993), Euskadour (2006)], and the cancellation of the MIDCAT project (2007–2022) amid France’s nuclear-centric stance and pre-Ukraine complacency hampered cohesion. These dynamics remarkably unveil how long-standing structural and political asymmetries have undermined Iberian integration and broader EU energy solidarity.

Chapters 10 and 11 reveal the complex interplay of energy policy, resource realities, and heritage challenges in postwar Europe. France’s transition—sparked by the 1951 Lacq gas discovery and state-led contracts—created a centralized, diversified natural gas system importing from Algeria (LNG), the Netherlands, and Russia. France’s balanced supply mix and stronger focus on electricity sharply contrast with Italy’s import dependency and its decision to renounce nuclear energy in the 1987 referendum, reshaping its own policy. Under Enrico Mattei’s ENI, Italy sought energy autonomy but remained reliant on imports from Libya, the Soviet Union, the Netherlands, and Algeria via pipelines and LNG, exposing a geopolitically fragile, import-dependent model. Meanwhile, efforts to redevelop former gasworks expose tensions between environmental remediation, preservation, and financial viability. The authors are fully consistent in warning against romanticizing industrial heritage without addressing contamination, economic feasibility, and modern time urban needs.

The book’s final chapter excellently discusses Europe’s gas landscape from the early 2000s to the post-2022 rupture, highlighting Spain’s LNG-based diversification versus Germany’s pipeline dependence. It links infrastructure projects—like MEDGAZ and the abandoned MIDCAT pipeline—to diplomatic tensions, particularly with Algeria. “REPowerEU” (May 2022) is effectively framed as both a climate and geopolitical inflection point. However, the chapter could have better addressed socioeconomic disparities and the practical hurdles posed by technological and behavioral complexities. Focused on EU dynamics, it overlooks the current broader global context—especially the U.S. withdrawal from climate leadership under the second administration of Trump—revealing fragile transatlantic coordination. The Spain–Germany contrast underscores deep structural asymmetries and diverging resilience within the EU, reinforcing the urgency for strategic autonomy and innovation in an unstable global energy landscape.

Though focused on European energy, this book is a vital resource across economic and business history, industrial economics, energy infrastructure, and the broader social sciences. Its depth and scope will appeal to scholars in history, economics, and the humanities, establishing it as a key reference for understanding the evolving relationship between industry, public utilities, and society in Europe from the Victorian era to the present day.