An empirical study on the public perception and acceptance of hydrogen energy in Taiwan

ABSTRACT

In this study, we extract factors by using factor analysis and then adopt them in a regression analysis to investigate the public perception and acceptance of hydrogen energy in Taiwan. Six reliable factors were extracted from the exploratory factor analysis of 29 5-point Likert-type items. Our regression results show that the public perception of hydrogen energy as a green energy, public belief in domestic hydrogen industries being able to conform to international safety standards, and public perception of the cost advantage of hydrogen gas over petroleum have significantly positive effects on support for the development of hydrogen energy in Taiwan. While people have a high level of concern about the safety of hydrogen and its associated technologies, the unsafe perceptions of hydrogen and its associated technologies have no significant effects on their support. In particular, public belief in domestic hydrogen industries being able to conform to international safety standards is a powerful factor that enhances support for hydrogen energy development.

KEYWORDS:

• Acceptance
• hydrogen energy
• perception
• safety
• support

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to the two anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments and constructive suggestions on earlier versions of this article. We also thank Prof. Eric S. Lin (National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan) for his useful suggestions.

Funding

This research was supported by the Bureau of Energy, Ministry of Economic Affairs in Taiwan under the contract No. 103-D0714.

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by the Bureau of Energy, Ministry of Economic Affairs in Taiwan under the contract No. 103-D0714.