The acceptance of hydrogen technologies

September 1998

Starting point and goal of the study

The spread of a new technology is not least dependent on being accepted by possible users. It has already been investigated for various technologies whether the general public considers them dangerous, rejects them, or greets them. There is, as of yet, little information of this kind on the subject of hydrogen-powered transportation. For example, there is the question of whether transportation of this kind arouses any fears – for example of a possible danger of explosion – or whether the positive aspects are more prominant in people‘s thoughts – e.g. the environmental friendliness.

It is know from risk-research that the perception of danger is relatively independent of the actual danger: If a list of risks is made ranked based on their proven danger and a second is made based on which risks worry the public – then it has been shown that the two lists have very little in common (Jungermann & Slovic, 1993, S. 90). There is an abundance of research on which factors lead to technologies being assessed as dangerous, and as a result being rejected. Two of these factors are of particular interest in connection with hydrogen technologies:

• It is been shown that risks are considered more threatening if they are not well known, and little knowledge exists regarding the sources of their risks (Jungermann & Slovic, 1993; Kruse, 1995). New unfamiliar technologies whose danger cannot yet be assessed are often rejected. With known and trusted technologies there is at least the belief that the risk being taken is a known one. Thus, in connection with a study evaluating the acceptance of hydrogen technologies the question is raised as to what knowledge the population already possesses about these technologies. Due to the fact that hydrogen technologies are not very widespread, it can be assumed that there exists relatively little knowledge about them. In this context it is also of interest whether a need for knowledge about this topic is perceived– and which sources of information are used or would be used.

• Also the potential of risks or technologies for catastrophe is decisive. A technology is considered particularly risky if it has the potential for accidents with many deaths. Technologies which cause (the same number of, or even more) individual deaths are considered less dangerous in contrast. The classic example of this is the assessment of the danger of aeroplanes compared to automobiles. This effect is reinforced when the mass media has spectacular reports about accidents with many victims. In connection with hydrogen technologies the following question is raised: Are these technologies brought into connection with easily remembered accidents – above all the "Hindenburg" accident?

Questions posed by the study

With this background, the study needed to pursue three overall questions:

• What level of acceptance is there for hydrogen technologies?
• What knowledge is there about hydrogen technologies or what is associated with the term "hydrogen"?
• Is there a demand for information about hydrogen technologies?

The study was carried out by Ludwig-Bölkow-Systemtechnik GmbH (LBST) in co-operation with the Ludwig-Maximilians University of Munich. The LBST has developed in HyWeb a comprehensive information system about hydrogen technologies which has been available in the Internet under www.HyWeb.de since April 1997. The goal of HyWeb is to increase both the knowledge and acceptance of hydrogen technologies. Thus, a goal of the study was to draw conclusions from the results of the study, which are of consequence to the design of HyWeb.

The three "part-studies"

Study 1
Since secondary school students represent a specific target group of the information system HyWeb, Study 1 investigated this population segment. A total of 410 students were questioned about their acceptance of, their knowledge of, and need for information about hydrogen technologies.

Study 2
The use of the worldwide first hydrogen-powered regular bus in summer of 1997 in Munich offered the chance to complement the data from the students with a passenger poll in the hydrogen bus.

Study 3
What effect does it have on the acceptance of hydrogen technologies when a person comes into direct contact with hydrogen-powered transportation? This question was in the foreground in Study 3. The evaluations of acceptance by the students who were questioned in the bus were compared with those of the students asked in the classroom.

Discussion of the entire study

Literature

Executiv Summary