On Monday 2nd December, GroenvermogenNL’s HySUCCESS project was launched. A broad consortium from the knowledge and business field will spend the next six years focusing on the socio-economic factors of a successful hydrogen transition. Kornelia Konrad [KITES], Nicole Huijts [PCRS], and Anne Dijkstra [COM] from the BMS faculty are part of this GroenvermogenNL project that focuses on the socio-economic side of the hydrogen transition.
Equitable hydrogen transition
The research is led by professors Linda Steg (University of Groningen) and Henk Akkermans (Tilburg University). Steg also stresses the importance of non-technical factors for the hydrogen transition. ‘Because without acceptance of hydrogen, good laws and regulations and good business models, hydrogen will not be able to be implemented on a large scale. In doing so, it is important to have a fair hydrogen transition, with a fair distribution of costs and benefits and with transparent procedures, which also contributes to public acceptance.’
Cooperation between science and business
Within HySUCCESS, which stands for Social, User aCCeptable, Economically Sustainable Systems for hydrogen, parties from the knowledge field and the business community have joined forces within 1 broad consortium: 10 universities, 4 universities of applied sciences, 3 research organisations and 3 industrial partners are working together. They investigate the role of green hydrogen in a carbon-neutral energy system and the effects of hydrogen on the environment. They further zoom in on the factors that hinder and strengthen the economic feasibility of hydrogen business cases in the Netherlands. They also study legal frameworks and policy instruments and socio-cultural factors that determine what role hydrogen can play in the energy system.
Scientific research
‘With this project, we want to understand the economic, legal, and social factors that influence the feasibility of hydrogen. We hope to shed light on regional labour market effects and understand the drivers of public acceptance,’ says Steg. ’This is scientific research in which everything can be questioned, including whether hydrogen can play a role in the future energy system. Based on our research, politicians and other societal stakeholders can determine what role hydrogen can have in the Dutch energy system and what policies are needed to remove barriers.’
Connection to other projects
According to Herder, HySUCCESS is an essential part of Groenvermogennl’s R&D programme. ‘It will connect with other GroenvermogenNL projects to promote acceleration of the hydrogen economy. For example, HySUCCESS analyses the economic feasibility and social acceptance of innovative electrolysis and plasma technologies that are central to the HyPRO consortium. Or consider hydrogen transport and storage for example, which the HyTROS consortium is researching. What about its legal and policy frameworks? Also, for our other pillars, such as the demo projects and our human capital agenda, HySUCCESS helps to remove socio-economic barriers that could stand in the way of further implementation and acceleration.’
