Grant worth millions for research on the socio-economic impact of hydrogen transition
A consortium including economists, psychologists and public administration scholars from Leiden University will study public acceptance of the hydrogen transition in the Netherlands. They will look at the labour market impact, public perceptions of hydrogen and businesses’ willingness to invest.
Hydrogen is seen as a promising renewable energy carrier to replace fossil fuels. Much research has already been conducted on the technology to store and use hydrogen but as yet little research has been done on the socio-economic impact of the hydrogen transition. What will this new energy carrier mean for the labour market, for example? And how do people feel about new pipelines or factories to transport and store hydrogen being built in their backyard? These are just some of the questions that an interdisciplinary team of Leiden researchers are going to explore. The researchers are part of a larger consortium that has received 13 million euros from the National Growth Fund by the Dutch Research Council (NWO).
More insight into what the public thinks about hydrogen
The researchers will do so by studying statistical data and conducting a survey across different demographic groups. The main aim is to collect scientific knowledge about the socio-economic aspects of the hydrogen transition. ‘But this knowledge can definitely also be applied, for instance by the government’, Professor of Economics Olaf van Vliet stresses. ‘Policymakers, for example, will gain a better understanding of public concerns about hydrogen: Are these mainly about jobs and the skills you need for those jobs? Or do they relate to other risks, costs or benefits? And do these differ between regions, income or age groups? That knowledge can be used for policymaking
Effects on the labour market
The team will also research various aspects of hydrogen’s impact on the Dutch labour market. This includes whether a greater role for hydrogen will lead to more green jobs at the regional level, to the replacement of ‘fossil’ jobs, or both. The second part of this research will focus on the skills needed in jobs linked to the hydrogen transition. ‘For example, a large hydrogen project on the second Maasvlakte [reclaimed land by the Port of Rotterdam, Ed.]’, says Van Vliet. ‘And tens of thousands of workers will be needed for other projects in the coming years. The current labour market is incredibly tight. We really don’t have those people. They have to come from somewhere and the question is where. And what skills will these people need and what skills do they currently possess? We can use statistical data to look at that.’
The labour market research will also consider how heavily the labour-market effects will weigh on public acceptance of hydrogen. Are economic aspects most important to the public or do other factors count more? ‘We will make an innovative link between psychology and political economics’, Van Vliet adds.
Businesses’ investment decisions
The research will take six years. Are the researchers worried that the technology will have overtaken the research findings by then? ‘It’s a risk’, Van Vliet admits. ‘But we are relatively far in hydrogen technology, whereas the socio-economic side has hardly been explored at all. The transition is stalling because of the lack of investment and upscaling of hydrogen production, and that is linked to public confidence in the hydrogen transition. If businesses feel that the public or consumers do not support the transition enough, they will not invest in it. And during the research, we will also work closely with researchers and businesses dealing with the technology.’
Interdisciplinary team
This connection between disciplines, or interdisciplinarity, is an important feature of the Leiden research group, which alongside Olaf van Vliet consists of Emma ter Mors, Hendrik Vrijburg, Sarah Giest, Lars van Doorn, Ron Diris, Marion Collewet and Wilco van Dijk. ‘In the past year, economists, psychologists and public administration scholars from three faculties have worked together intensively to build this group’, says Van Vliet. ‘We are going to create joint surveys, for example. It’s really exciting because these will bring together insights from our different disciplines. We are also going to write joint publications.’ The team also expects much collaboration with the other partners from the HySUCCESS (Social, User aCCeptable, Economically Sustainable Systems for hydrogen) consortium. This comprises ten universities, five universities of applied sciences, four commercial parties and a branch organisation.
Text: Jan Joost Aten