Public Acceptance of the Underground Storage of Hydrogen: Lessons Learned from the Geological Storage of CO2

The successful commercialisation of underground hydrogen storage (UHS) is contingent upon technological readiness and social acceptance. A lack of social acceptance, inadequate policies/regulations, an unreliable business case, and environmental uncertainty have the potential to delay or prevent UHS commercialisation, even in cases where it is ready. The technologies utilised for underground hydrogen and carbon dioxide storage are analogous. The differences lie in the types of gases stored and the purpose of their storage. It is anticipated that the challenges related to public acceptance will be analogous in both cases. An assessment was made of the possibility of transferring experiences related to the social acceptance of CO2 sequestration to UHS based on an analysis of relevant articles from indexed journals. The analysis enabled the identification of elements that can be used and incorporated into the social acceptance of UHS. A framework was identified that supports the assessment and implementation of factors determining social acceptance, ranging from conception to demonstration to implementation. These factors include education, communication, stakeholder involvement, risk assessment, policy and regulation, public trust, benefits, research and demonstration programmes, and social embedding. Implementing these measures has the potential to increase acceptance and facilitate faster implementation of this technology.