Never Forget – The importance of acceptance in the production and introduction of alternative fuels

The increasing emissions in the mobility sector pose a substantial challenge to modern society, with a considerable contribution to climate change. The transportation industry, which is heavily reliant on fossil fuels, is a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, which in turn exacerbates global warming and environmental degradation. It is imperative to address this issue in order to achieve sustainability and reduce the carbon footprint. The production of alternative fuels has the potential to reduce the reliance on conventional fossil energy sources, such as gasoline or diesel, by repurposing carbon dioxide emissions. These innovative fuels offer a sustainable energy solution and help to mitigate the adverse effects of carbon emissions. The acceptance of these fuels by future consumers is a necessary prerequisite for the sustainable adoption and success of such fuels. A substantial number of empirical studies have been conducted in recent years, primarily focusing on a single fuel or its production process in great detail. Nevertheless, a comprehensive overview that compares the acceptance of alternative fuels and their origin, and that investigates different acceptance contexts, influencing factors, as well as relationships and interdependencies, is currently lacking. This paper addresses this research gap by presenting the results of meta-analyses of 25 empirical studies focusing on carbon removal, relevant production routes for alternative fuels, and different fuel types. The findings from these studies demonstrate that the context exerts a significant influence on the acceptance of these processes. Furthermore, the parameters that influence acceptance vary depending on the context, and the acceptance of these processes can be influenced by the passage of time. The insights also demonstrate that demographic factors are not a determining factor in acceptance. Instead, attitudinal characteristics, particularly risk perception and environmental awareness, influence acceptance in general and acceptance of alternative vehicle fuel in particular. Furthermore, the study has derived relevant acceptance requirements for fuel development, product use, and legislation regarding fuel development and introduction. The insights thus enable the derivation of design and information guidelines, as well as implications for future research on alternative fuels and their production pathways. • Meta-Analysis of studies on acceptance of alternative fuels and their production. • Identification of acceptance-factors depending on diverse contexts and course of time. • Exploration of the relevance of human factors beyond singular studies' results. • Derivating acceptance requirements along value chain of fuel development and roll-out.