Public values for a Hydrogen energy system

Public perceptions are important in relation to if and how public(s) may engage with Hydrogen fuelled technologies. Notably public awareness and understanding of Hydrogen technologies is currently very low. Attitudes are largely positive but mixed and variable between people; these are likely to change significantly as Hydrogen technologies proliferate further. Current understanding of perceptions of hydrogen are limited and tend to ignore the wider context of the technology. Research is proposed that uses a mixed methodology using both qualitative and quantitative approaches to examine perceptions towards likely future Hydrogen technology scenarios. This will enable an analysis of public perceptions allowing depth of understanding of why and when people accept Hydrogen technologies, as well as the ability to consider the generalisability of empirical results across the population, and providing the ability to identify who is likely to accept Hydrogen technologies. It is also proposed to apply and develop previously identified public values for energy system change in order to understand what features of a new Hydrogen system are likely to engender or deny acceptance.
Deliverables:
-Develop scenarios within which acceptance of Hydrogen technologies might be contentious.
-Provide generalisable empirical data relating to public acceptance of Hydrogen technologies across the UK with a segmentation analysis of different population samples.
-Create a quantitative assessment tool for public values for acceptance of new energy systems.
-Identify and develop key values for public acceptance of a new Hydrogen energy system.
-Give academic talks and produce academic papers examining public perceptions and values in relation to Hydrogen technologies.