The transition phase of Hydrogen and Fuel Cell (HFC) technologies is expected to happen within the next decade. As many European countries and companies face severe economic and social challenges, it will be difficult to introduce hydrogen and fuel cell technologies on a broad-scale to the market, expecting higher cost and less comfortable infrastructure or lower reliability (childhood diseases) for early adopters.
Changing a running system, and switching to a new technology when competitive and reliable alternatives are in place, will require more than “just” environmental benefit and energy efficiency – it requires a true added-value to the early adopters (region and/or organization).
The overall purpose of HYACINTH project is to gain a deeper understanding of the social acceptance of hydrogen technologies across Europe by combining specific qualitative and quantitative methods and samples of European citizens and stakeholders. HYACINTH aims to:
- Identify and understand awareness and acceptance of hydrogen energy and HFC technologies and perceived potential benefits (added value) in the general public and at selected stakeholders, expected to be relevant to the implementation of HFC projects and activities in the transition phase (industry supplier, industry and private customer, administration and politics, interest groups and media),
- Identify the main drivers of social awareness and acceptance of HFC technologies in order to provide recommendations on how and what to best communicate and engage general public and stakeholders involved in regional hydrogen energy and HFC projects and activities,
- Support stakeholders (industry, project managers, policy makers…) by providing a social acceptance research toolbox, enabling a regional understanding of the acceptance process and providing tools to manage expectations to keep or increase acceptance at selected stakeholder groups and the general public.
