What do Europeans know about hydrogen technologies?

Sustainable, safe, important

Europeans across all sociodemographic subgroups have a high level of awareness of hydrogen energy, with over eight in ten respondents (82%) declaring that have seen, read or heard something about hydrogen (82%), shows a public opinion survey conducted in autumn 2022 that analysed European citizens’ attitudes towards and level of knowledge of hydrogen technologies.

69% of the respondents believe that hydrogen is a sustainable energy source. In particular, hydrogen is considered positively in terms of its environmental impact with an average rating of 3.9 out of 10. In comparison, fossil energy is widely seen to have the most negative impact on the environment with an average rating of 7,7 out of 10.

Most Europeans (70%) also agree that hydrogen has a role to play in reducing energy dependence of their country.

Hydrogen is also seen as safe. Six in ten (59%) respondents in the EU believe that hydrogen is as safe as any other energy source. Only 17% disagreed that hydrogen energy was safe but there was a high level of don’t know responses (24%) suggesting a key gap in current public knowledge.

The most widely known application is the use of hydrogen as fuel for transport (76%) , following by its use in certain industries to reduce their impact on the environment (56%). The use of hydrogen for heating is less well known, with only 42% aware if this application. Just over one in ten (13%) has experienced hydrogen energy in any of these three applications (vehicle fuel, industry use or domestic heating). 

A drive to receive more information has also been highlighted by the survey, with seven in ten respondents interested in receiving more information about hydrogen energy.

Traditional media (like television) and online are the sources most likely to be used by the public when seeking information on energy: 54% of respondents say they go on the Internet to get this information, 47% would find it on television and 30% would discuss the issue with friends and relatives. Only 6% of respondents claim never to look for information about energy.

The study was conducted by Gallup International following a call for tenders launched by predecessor of the Clean Hydrogen Partnership, FCH JU.

More information about the survey results can be found in the Survey report and Executive summary, as well as in the country factsheets available on the website.

Webinar outcomes

The state of play of public awareness was explored as well in a webinar organised on 7 July 2023, with the participation of industry, policy and research representatives.

The event discussed the results of the  public opinion survey on the public awareness of hydrogen technologies in Europe and presented the objectives of HyPop, a new project in this field , funded by the Clean Hydrogen JU under its 2022 call for proposals. Participants highlighted some practical implications for messaging and policy, including the role of different actors in promoting the uptake and adoption of hydrogen technologies.

The recording and the presentations of the webinar are available here.