Anticipating public attitudes towards hydrogen energy technologies
Project lead
Dr Andrea Walton, andrea.walton@csiro.au
Leader researchers
Dr Mitchell Scovell, mitchell.scovell@csiro.au
Challenge
Hydrogen has exciting potential as a source of energy. It could help address energy security challenges, reduce carbon emissions, and generate economic growth. However, like most new technologies, implementing new hydrogen energy systems in a socially responsible way is not without its challenges. If we are to scale up hydrogen production out of the lab and into the hands of industry players, we will need a range of new technologies. For instance, producing clean hydrogen at scale will require more large-scale solar and wind farms, and we may need some help from carbon capture and storage technology. We may also need to store large amounts of hydrogen underground. These production and storage approaches will likely impact people and communities in different ways.
Different technologies required to make, store, transport and use hydrogen have their own unique risks, benefits and costs. This means that support for hydrogen will likely be dependent on how people think about specific technologies and social actors involved. The fact that someone may be supportive of hydrogen cars, for instance, may not necessarily mean they are supportive of all the ways in which hydrogen can be made and stored.
Because the successful uptake of any new energy technology is dependent on community and public acceptance, it is important to understand the factors that may facilitate or impede the public acceptance of new hydrogen energy technologies.
What we are doing
This project is investigating public attitudes towards different hydrogen energy technologies using qualitative and quantitative research methods. The goal of this research is not to merely identify and describe public attitudes, but to explain how and why people form attitudes towards specific hydrogen technologies. To achieve this goal, the researchers will implement a new method of conceptualising and modelling attitudes to better anticipate public responses to future hydrogen energy technologies.
The findings from this project can help to inform messaging, policy, and decision-making to support a responsible hydrogen transition. More specifically, the project will help to ensure that:
- relevant stakeholders (e.g., industry, government, and policymakers) are informed about the technology-specific concerns people may have, and how to best address these concerns.
- decisions about how to make, store, transport and use hydrogen are informed by public preferences.
- large-scale hydrogen projects, which may impact some communities more than others, are implemented in ways that align with community values and expectations.
Outcomes to date
This project involved several subprojects, some using qualitative data and others using quantitative data.
Hydrogen technology perceptions
The first subproject investigated public beliefs about various hydrogen technologies across the supply chain using a qualitative methodology. In this project, participants were provided with some relevant information about the hydrogen industry in Australia, and its expected impacts, so they could provide some informed opinions about the overall hydrogen strategy and specific technologies.
The findings showed that participants were quite optimistic about hydrogen overall but expressed some concerns about its efficiency and potential conflict with other technologies (e.g., renewable electricity, batteries, electric vehicles etc.). There was also more support for industrial applications over domestic/household applications and a desire to see the tangible benefits of the technology in action.
The other subprojects were focused on answering research questions using survey responses from a representative sample of the Australian population.
Blue hydrogen versus green hydrogen
One subproject explored how Australians are currently thinking about two main methods for producing hydrogen: ‘blue’ hydrogen (hydrogen made from steam reforming of natural gas, with carbon capture and storage) and ‘green’ hydrogen (electrolysis of water using renewable electricity).
The results revealed that beliefs differed depending on the production method presented but effect sizes were quite small overall. The effect was, however, more pronounced with those who more strongly endorse an environmental preservation attitude. The findings, overall, suggest that there is slightly stronger support for green hydrogen production, which is informed by the beliefs that blue hydrogen is a replaceable technology, will conflict with renewable electricity production and will have negative environmental impacts.
The research emphasises the importance of researchers and industry to show that blue hydrogen is a viable long-term option that will complement, not conflict with, renewable electricity production. Additionally, the findings suggest that blue hydrogen projects will gain stronger support if they can demonstrate minimal local environmental impacts and limited carbon emissions.
How beliefs affect perceptions
Other research as part of this project is focused on exploring different methods of modelling psychological variables and how they interact to explain hydrogen-related attitudes. These methods are specifically being using to understand how hydrogen-specific beliefs interact to explain how people form attitudes and how they perceived hydrogen-related risks. This research has found that specific beliefs (e.g., believing that it’s difficult to store hydrogen safely) have a relatively strong influence on perceived hydrogen risk compared to other factors (e.g., associating hydrogen with the Hindenburg). The findings can be used to develop more targeted approaches to addressing public concerns about risk.
Project finish date
June 2023
Relevant project publications
‘Green’ or ‘blue’ hydrogen – what difference does it make? Not much for most Australians – CSIRO
Scovell, Mitchell, and Andrea Walton. ‘Blue or Green? Exploring Australian Acceptance and Beliefs about Hydrogen Production Methods’. Journal of Cleaner Production, 6 February 2024, 141151. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2024.141151.
Scovell, Mitchell, Rod McCrea, Andrea Walton, and Lavinia Poruschi. ‘Local Acceptance of Solar Farms: The Impact of Energy Narratives’. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 189 (1 January 2024): 114029. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2023.114029.
Scovell, M.D (2023) Core beliefs shaping attitudes towards the hydrogen industry: A psychological network analysis. Oral presentation at the International Conference on Environmental Psychology (ICEP). Aarhus, Denmark.
Scovell, M.D (2023) A psychological network approach to understanding hydrogen-related risk perception. Oral presentation at the Society for Risk Analysis Conference. Lund, Sweden.
Scovell, M.D (2023) Assessing Attitudes and Impacts: A Technology Assessment of Hydrogen in Australia. Oral presentation at the International Association Impact Assessment (IAIA) conference. Kuching, Malaysia.
Scovell, M.D (2023) Explaining Australian attitudes toward hydrogen energy technologies: A psychological network approach. Oral presentation at the Australian Hydrogen Research Conference. Canberra, Australia.
Scovell, M.D., Walton, A (2023) Identifying informed beliefs about hydrogen technologies across the energy supply chain. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 48(82), 31825-31836. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2023.04.242
Scovell, M.D., Walton, A (2022) Public beliefs about hydrogen energy technologies in Australia: production, storage, distribution and utilisation. CSIRO. csiro:EP2022-1047. https://doi.org/10.25919/5j9s-2510
Scovell, M.D. (2022) Explaining hydrogen energy technology acceptance: A critical review. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 47(19), 10441-10459. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2022.01.099
Scovell, M.D. (2021) Public Perceptions Towards Hydrogen Energy Technologies Across the Value Chain. Oral presentation at the Energy Futures 4 Conference. Virtual. http://hdl.handle.net/102.100.100/433942?index=1
H2 GO: Are Australians on board with hydrogen energy? – CSIRO
HyResearch record
Anticipating public attitudes towards hydrogen energy technologies – HyResearch (csiro.au)