Are you a psychological researcher with a passion for investigating a topic relevant to the energy transition, while also striving for scientific impact? Do you want to combine insights from your own area of research (psychology) with those from other scientific disciplines such as economics and technology? Then we have the perfect challenge for you!

Join us!
We are looking for a 2-year postdoc in social psychology to join a new Growth Fund research project on public attitudes towards hydrogen as a green energy carrier. The postdoc will be situated at the University of Amsterdam, Social Psychology Program and work with Prof. Dr. Frenk van Harreveld (PI), Dr. Monique Chambon & Dr. Jonas Dalege.

Are you exceptionally interested in attitudes and behaviours towards sustainable technologies?

Is your ambition to develop into an independent researcher who approaches societally relevant topics with scientific rigour?

Are you looking for a challenging job with high independence?

The Department of Psychology of the Faculty of Behavioural and Social Sciences is hiring a postdoc.

The project
The transition away from fossil fuels and towards sustainable sources of energy is an immense challenge. Hydrogen could provide solutions, but the deployment of hydrogen technology in the Netherlands and elsewhere in the world in a such way that is on the one hand safe, fair and with broad societal support and on the other hand is technologically feasible and economically viable, requires the design of specific hydrogen configurations, aspects, consequences, and decision-making procedures such that they achieve societal acceptability. Public opposition from broader society (both on a national and international level) and local communities may render the implementation of specific hydrogen projects unfeasible (cf. Ter Mors & Van Leeuwen, 2023). A successful transition towards green hydrogen is dependent not only on the technological and economic feasibility of, and political support for, hydrogen technologies and projects, but these are all intrinsically tied to societal feasibility.

Hy-Success aims to shed light onto citizens’ acceptance of specific configurations of green hydrogen technology and zero-emission energy carriers. We investigate how attitudes of citizens, perceived risks and hazards of hydrogen production, storage, and use interact with economic, legal, political, and technological variables in a complex system. In doing so, we take a broad approach by investigating such variables in a range of different countries and do so by employing empirical network methodology (e.g. Dalege, Borsboom, van Harreveld, van den Berg, Conner, & van der Maas, 2016). Through survey studies and subsequent empirical network modelling we investigate how variables relate to acceptance of policy making and legislation, trust in science and politics, access to co-benefits, and willingness-to-change. We specifically investigate how perceptions of individuals (including attitudes, perceptions of risk, fairness, trust and willingness- to-pay) influence – and are influenced by e.g. the configuration of policy-making, technological innovation, economic and political developments.

Societal case
To limit the global average atmospheric temperature increase to 1.5 °C, we need to accelerate the transformation of the energy system to one that involves net zero-emission energy carriers. Ongoing technological development or existing regulations, financial models et cetera alone are unlikely to be sufficient; scaled-up investments from developers, an enabling regulatory environment, novel financial models et cetera are required. Ultimately, however, it requires widespread adoption of renewable, clean energy sources by citizens and the acceptance of policies that are aimed at stimulating this adoption. Hy-Success provides expertise on how to accelerate the energy transition through 1) insight into citizens’ acceptance of risks potentially associated with the production, storage and transport of hydrogen, 2) pathways for enhancing citizens’ willingness to adopt hydrogen as an energy carrier, including by identifying and stimulating co-benefits, 3) understanding of citizens’ willingness to pay (in a monetary sense but also for example in the sense of accepting the technology in their living environment) for net-zero-emission energy carriers, 4) knowledge regarding the modelling of economically efficient upscaling of hydrogen production, storage and transport and 5) insight into how green hydrogen technology can be implemented in a way that is fair from a global perspective.

Collaborating parties
TNO is a collaborating partner on the project because it holds essential applied scientific skills required for covering the full energy transition knowledge chain. The National Institute of Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) is involved as a collaborating partner, since it investigates citizens’ perceptions on hydrogen for the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management (I&W, click here). Collaboration with RIVM constitutes a catalyst for both the quality of research and its impact on policy of the relevant ministries.

For more info about the project click here.

What are you going to do?
As a postdoctoral researcher, you will:

• Design, execute and analyze survey studies into public perceptions towards hydrogen technology;
• Based on these survey studies, investigate scenarios that may impact public acceptance;
• Translate this research into scientific papers and conference presentations;
• Intensively collaborate with the partners in the consortium.

What do you have to offer?
You are an independent and quantitatively oriented researcher with a strong interest in applying social psychological insights to societally relevant topics. You are proficient in R and excited about the challenge of investigating attitudes towards hydrogen technology through empirical network models. You like to work in multidisciplinary contexts involving people from academic and non-academic backgrounds. You are driven towards scientific impact and enjoy writing scientific papers and are successful in publishing.

Your experience and profile

• PhD in Social Psychology, Psychological Methods or related discipline;
• Experience with designing surveys and analysing their data;
• Experience with R (statistical analysis);
• Willingness to achieve a high transparency of methods, materials, and data (e.g. pre-registration and Registered Reports);
• Ideally some experience with empirical network modelling (optional);
• Outstanding organizational skills, high conscientiousness, flexibility, and a collaborative attitude;
• Willingness and ability to learn and grow in all areas of research;
• Excellent oral and written communication skills in English;
• Ideally speaking Dutch to connect with local stakeholders (optional).

What else do we offer?

• An inspiring academic and international working environment in the heart of Amsterdam.
• A position in which initiative and input are highly valued.
• A project in which you will collaborate with colleagues from psychology as well as other disciplines.
• An opportunity to expand your methodological skill set.

You will work in this department
You will work within academic ecosystem with ample opportunity to collaborate with colleagues with relevant interests and expertise. First, you will collaborate with other postdocs and PhD candidates within the Groenvermogen consortium (University of Leiden, University of Groningen and others). There will be frequent consortium meetings with these partners, with whom we collectively investigate public perceptions towards hydrogen.

Second, the UvA-team within the Groenvermogen consortium also involves partners with an economic-technological focus, as well as partners from RIVM, with experience investigating public attitudes towards hydrogen technology.

Third, on a more micro-level, within the department of Social Psychology at the UvA, you will work with other Postdocs and PhD candidates who work on related (sustainability-related) topics, with a similar methodological approach.

The Social Psychology Program at the UvA provides an open and collaborative working environment in which your own initiative is supported.

If you have questions about this postdoc position, please contact:

• Prof. dr. Frenk van Harreveld F.vanHarreveld@uva.nl

Do you recognize yourself in the job profile? Then we look forward to receiving your application/motivation letter and resume in one .pdf file by 26 January 2025. We plan to interview candidates early 2025 and aim for a start early Spring 2025.

Applications should be bundled as one single .pdf that includes:

• Curriculum vitae;
• 2- or 3-page letter of motivation explaining how your interests, skills, and accomplishments align to succeed in this position;
• Contact details of two referees.