Leeds Beckett University - City Campus,
Woodhouse Lane,
LS1 3HE
How can hydrogen help in the net zero transition?
With COP26 taking place in Glasgow, there’s a lot of buzz about the importance of reaching Net Zero or carbon neutrality. But there’s also a lot of uncertainty about how we’re going to get there. We know that we need to tackle the carbon emissions from heating our homes, but different homes are likely to need different approaches. One option being explored is to switch the gas we use from methane to hydrogen.
Unlike methane, hydrogen doesn’t release any carbon dioxide when we burn it. Now that safety testing has shown that hydrogen is just as safe as methane, hydrogen trials are being planned in which the gas supply in small areas of the country will be switched from methane to hydrogen. We therefore need to let people know about hydrogen as a possible option for heating and cooking.
Hydrogen home site
The Sustainable Behaviour Team at Leeds Beckett University has been looking into the most effective way of letting people know about the work being done to switch the gas supply to hydrogen. We’ve been working with the public to explore what they want to know, any concerns they have, their questions about how a switch would work, and how best to explain things in a way that’s:
- Engaging
- Easy to understand
- Relevant to people and their lives
- Empowering
- Motivating
We’ve been working on a variety of media, including producing “golden rules” for written information, and an animation to explain how hydrogen is produced and why it is better for the environment.
Our latest step towards this goal is the production of an interactive display that can be used to explore the role that hydrogen can play in net zero. The content for the display was co-designed with members of the public and with hydrogen experts from Northern Gas Networks, the Health and Safety Executive and the gas industry. It features an avatar of Alex Brightman, the liaison officer at the hydrogen display home, who talks us through the points that people want to know. The public worked with us to ensure that the content and language used in the display, the level of detail, and even the voiceover, will work.
My background as a Health Psychologist was particularly useful when developing the display. Health Psychology involves helping people to make the right decisions for them when it comes to their health and wellbeing. We were able to apply the same theories to the hydrogen display so that it helps people understand the decisions that they may be asked to make about their domestic fuel, and starts to provide them with the information they need to be able to make the best decision for them and their families.
To produce the display, we worked with Ay-Pe, an organisation who develops displays for museums and galleries. The results are very impressive. The display was recently installed at the Hydrogen Homes site. Northern Gas Networks will take it to a series of public and industry events to help people understand how a switch to hydrogen could help us meet our Net Zero commitment.
Professor Fiona Fylan
Fiona is a Health Psychologist who applies behavioural sciences to better understand behaviour and to develop and evaluate interventions to change behaviour. She works in areas such as energy use, transport choices, road user behaviour and healthcare provision.
