Social acceptance is an important aspect in the realization and implementation of various renewableenergy technologies. Our main objective with this literature review is to provide insight into publicsupport, social acceptance and societal readiness for new energy technologies in general, andhydrogen, both as an energy carrier and as an application in the built environment, in particular. 110relevant articles were identified, of which 28 have been included in this literature review, based onrelevance and year of publication (2012-2022). Generally, the findings show there is low awarenessconcerning hydrogen, as well as limited knowledge and familiarity with this new energy technology,especially concerning hydrogen storage. Despite this, there is overall moderate to high willingness toaccept hydrogen, which decreases when it comes to the local implementation of hydrogen projects.Safety and affordability were two important characteristic of a hydrogen industry that would motivatepeople to support this industry, together with climate change mitigation. Safety concerns over theflammability of hydrogen are mostly expressed when used for household activities and storage, andless so when it concerns the use of hydrogen for transportation. Communication about safety and risks,transparent interaction between all parties and the community, as well as giving the community avoice in the decision-making process, will be essential for hydrogen acceptance. Together with theresults from five case studies (deliverable 10.3 of the HyDelta 2.0 project), recommendations regardingthe elements that should and should not be included in a development and implementation strategywill be given.
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Societal aspects play an important role in successful implementation of renewable energytechnologies such as hydrogen. In Work package 10 (WP10) within the Hydelta 2.0 research program,we investigated the societal challenges and lessons learned for deploying hydrogentransport/distribution and application within the built environment in the Netherlands. Furthermore,we studied how these societal challenges can be successfully embedded within an implementationstrategy. In this deliverable (D10.3), the conducted field research of four cases, each in a differentphase of implementation (Rozenburg, Lochem, Wagenborgen, Stad aan ’t Haringvliet), is described.The central themes that we covered in this research are public support, (risk) communication, safetyand the experience of safety, and perceived success of the project. For each case, we interviewedlocal stakeholders (24 interviews in total) and residents, including people living nearby the hydrogenpilot (17 interviews, 68 questionnaires and approximately 90 conversations). The results show mostlypositive indications for public support (although this is not yet known for Stad aan ‘t Haringvliet). Inall cases, the importance of communication between stakeholders and between stakeholders andpotentially participating residents is acknowledged, even though there seems to be a lack ofcommunication with residents living in the vicinity of hydrogen pilots. This is a missed opportunityand a potential risk, as these residents may have questions and doubts, for instance about theprogress and decisions that have been made in the project. Positive attitudes concerning the safetyare partly attributed to the trust people have in the involved stakeholders. It also seems importantthat there is a contact person whom people can reach in case of questions or concerns. Additionally,in some of the cases a demonstration house, where people can experience what it means when ahouse is heated with hydrogen, seems successful. Thus, the findings emphasize the importance ofbroad and frequent communication, not only with the directly involved residents, but also withpeople who live in the vicinity of a hydrogen pilot. Communication is not only important in theplanning and implementation phase of the project, but also at the end of the implementation phase.Finally, shared ownership of the project and inclusion of all stakeholders in all phases of the projectseems important to prevent delays in the project.
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In HyDelta 2.0 WP10 we found through literature research, four local case studies and stakeholder interviews that the public perception of hydrogen developments in the Netherlands is now generally positive, nevertheless fragile. The knowledge level of the general public is not high: both concerning the technologies, vision and goals regarding hydrogen applications in the Netherlands. This lack of knowledge increases the risk of misinterpretation of information or change of perception with false information. The knowledge level can be increased with central communication about hydrogen developments, the vision and goals around hydrogen and policies. Improving central communication to the public raises the knowledge level and helps local implementation by unburdening local participation processes, which are currently extensive with first hydrogen developments and pilots. However, the fact that the entire energy system and policy framework concerning this in transition, makes communication about hydrogen developments to the public challenging. Roles and responsibilities in the sector are subject to change and there is uncertainty about what the energy system will look like in the future. This makes it challenging to provide unified information about the position of hydrogen in the future energy system. The current uncertain position of hydrogen applications in the future energy system, in combination with unclear roles and responsibilities and long lead times of permit procedures, contributes to a challenging climate for market parties to make investment decisions.In task 10.1 we did a literature review about social acceptance of hydrogen. In task 10.2 we did interviews with stakeholders along the hydrogen value chain about the societal embeddedness of hydrogen in the Netherlands and in task 10.3 we did four (local) case studies, studying public support, communication and risk and safety perception. In task 10.4 we used the results of tasks 10.1, 10.2 and 10.3 to work towards three risk governance strategies for nine societal risks occurring in four main subjects: (1.) participation, (2.) communication, (3.) policies and regulations and (4.) decision making. These strategies focus on what participation processes could look like in the coming years, how communication to the public can be optimized and what role the government could take to accelerate the development of the hydrogen value chain in The Netherlands by enabling stakeholders. The risk governance strategies have been developed in a co-creation setting. The strategies can be enhanced and improved by working out a step-wise approach and testing them in use case scenarios’.
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Hydelta is een Nederlands nationaal onderzoeksprogramma gericht op de veilige integratie van waterstof in bestaande gastransport en distributie-infrastructuur. Het samenwerkingsprogramma heeft tot doel barrières voor grootschalige implementatie van waterstof in Nederland weg te nemen.
