Keep it local and safe: Which system of green hydrogen production in Germany is accepted by citizens?

Transitioning from fossil fuels to renewable energies is imperative for Germany to reduce CO2 emissions and achieve greenhouse gas neutrality by 2045. Green hydrogen holds great potential to contribute to this energy transition by enabling the storage of surplus renewable energy. However, Germany's green hydrogen production industry is still in its infancy, with only a few green hydrogen plants existing. Studies examining the public's acceptance of green hydrogen production are scarce in this context. Still, high societal acceptance can contribute to the future expansion of green hydrogen production in Germany in terms of speed and volume. Therefore, our study aims to identify significant factors influencing the German population's acceptance of green hydrogen production within various acceptance groups with differing preferences for future green hydrogen production systems. We conducted an online survey (n = 1203) in Germany in 2022/2023, incorporating a choice experiment. Through subsequent latent class analysis, four acceptance groups with distinct preferences regarding local green hydrogen production were identified: Unconvinced citizens, Security-conscious citizens, Regional electricity consumers and Financial beneficiaries. A discriminant analysis identified 9 out of 11 factors as significant for distinguishing between these acceptance groups regarding their preferences for local green hydrogen production: trust in plant safety, trust in project managers, risk/benefit perception, environmental self-identity, negative attitude towards renewable energies, positive attitude towards renewable energies, emotions, age, and gender. However, no significant effects were observed for experience with green hydrogen and distance to the place of residence. Based on our results, it is recommended that required renewable energy for green hydrogen production should be produced as close to the green hydrogen plants as possible. It must be ensured and communicated to the public that the (planned) green hydrogen plants meet high safety standards and pose a very low risk of fire or explosion. The neighbouring population should also benefit through annual heating cost savings and financial participation. Implementing these measures can increase acceptance of local green hydrogen production, facilitating the transition towards a more sustainable energy future in Germany and beyond.