HYdrOgen Public OPiniOn and accePtance
HYPOP aims to increase public awareness of and trust in hydrogen technologies and their systemic benefits by:
a) Developing guidelines and best practices to help define more effective ways for citizens, consumers/end users, and stakeholders to participate in the deployment of hydrogen (H₂) technologies.
b) Creating a web platform that will host communication materials—primarily videos—about emerging hydrogen technologies, developed in line with the initial outcomes of the project’s public engagement activities.
HYPOP is coordinated by ENVI, an innovation accelerator with over 20 years of experience in the hydrogen sector. The project is implemented by a well-balanced consortium representing six countries and comprising National Hydrogen Clusters (Italy, Belgium, Poland, and Bulgaria), three Research Organizations (Ireland and Spain), and one European Research Promotion Agency (Italy).
The project will produce four sets of guidelines: one aimed at the general public, presenting best practices for engaging citizens, and three focused on the outcomes of stakeholder engagement activities involving first responders, permitting authorities, and certification bodies.
HYPOP will also contribute to defining the indicators used in the Social Life Cycle Assessment (S-LCA) of hydrogen technologies, focusing on two applications that are expected to become part of everyday life: residential energy and mobility.
In addition, HYPOP will collaborate with several ongoing hydrogen projects that include demonstration activities in public spaces. Some of these projects—such as EVERYWH2ERE, REFLEX, H2Ports, and REMOTE—have already been identified. They are well known to the consortium partners and have encountered barriers, often due to the lack of specific reference cases for authorities responsible for granting safety and other installation or operational permits for hydrogen demonstrators.
The HYPOP website is intended to become a central repository for similar videos explaining future hydrogen technologies currently under development and demonstration.
