Browsing by Author "Haq, Anwar"

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    Coupling green hydrogen production to community benefits: a pathway to social acceptance?
    (Elsevier, 2024-02-23) Gordon, Joel A.; Balta-Ozkan, Nazmiye; Haq, Anwar; Nabavi, Seyed Ali
    Hydrogen energy technologies are forecasted to play a critical supporting role in global decarbonisation efforts, as reflected by the growth of national hydrogen energy strategies in recent years. Notably, the UK government published its Hydrogen Strategy in August 2021 to support decarbonisation targets and energy security ambitions. While establishing techno-economic feasibility for hydrogen energy systems is a prerequisite of the prospective transition, social acceptability is also needed to support visions for the ‘hydrogen economy’. However, to date, societal factors are yet to be embedded into policy prescriptions. Securing social acceptance is especially critical in the context of ‘hydrogen homes’, which entails replacing natural gas boilers and hobs with low-carbon hydrogen appliances. Reflecting the nascency of hydrogen heating and cooking technologies, the dynamics of social acceptance are yet to be explored in a comprehensive way. Similarly, public perceptions of the hydrogen economy and emerging national strategies remain poorly understood. Given the paucity of conceptual and empirical insights, this study develops an integrated acceptance framework and tests its predictive power using partial least squares structural equation modelling. Results highlight the importance of risk perceptions, trust dynamics, and emotions in shaping consumer perceptions. Foremost, prospects for deploying hydrogen homes at scale may rest with coupling renewable-based hydrogen production to local environmental and socio-economic benefits. Policy prescriptions should embed societal factors into the technological pursuit of large-scale, sustainable energy solutions to support socially acceptable transition pathways.
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    Necessary and sufficient conditions for deploying hydrogen homes: a consumer-oriented perspective
    (Elsevier, 2024-05-13) Gordon, Joel A.; Balta-Ozkan, Nazmiye; Haq, Anwar; Nabavi, Seyed Ali
    As part of its efforts to secure a ‘net-zero society’, the UK government will take a strategic decision on the role of hydrogen in decarbonising homes within the next years. While scholars have recently advanced the social science research agenda on hydrogen technology acceptance, studies are yet to engage with the prospective dynamics of adopting ‘hydrogen homes’. In response, this study examines the perceived adoption potential of hydrogen heating and cooking technologies, as evaluated through the eyes of consumer. Engaging with behavioural and market acceptance, this research draws on data from a broadly nationally representative online survey to examine the influence of safety, technological, economic, environmental, and emotional factors on the domestic hydrogen transition in the UK context. The analysis follows a multi-stage empirical approach, integrating findings from partial least squares structural equation and necessary condition analysis to crystallise insights on this emergent subject. At this juncture, perceived adoption potential may hinge primarily on emotional, environmental, safety, and to a lesser extent, technological perspectives. However, consumers have an expressed preference for hydrogen heating over hydrogen cooking, with perceived boiler performance emerging as a necessary condition for enabling adoption potential. At the formative phase of the transition, risks associated with energy insecurity and fuel poverty exceed concerns over purchasing and running costs. Nevertheless, economic factors remain less critical during the pre-deployment phase of the innovation-decision process. Across the full sample, simple slope analysis highlights the moderating effects of gender, age, and housing tenure. Moreover, statistically significant differences from both a sufficiency- and necessity-based perspective are detected between male property owners aged 55+ and female mortgage owners 18–34 years old. By bridging the knowledge gap between social acceptance and adoption intention, this contribution reinforces the need for consumer engagement in the hydrogen economy, advocating for more fine-grained, mixed-methods analyses of technology acceptance dynamics to support decarbonisation strategies.