Construcción de la Licencia Social y Participación Ciudadana en proyectos de producción y desarrollo de Hidrógeno en la provincia de Río Negro mediante las Diplomaturas de Extensión Universitaria en Hidrógeno Verde (2022-2023)

Abstract

Hydrogen has gained prominence as a highly flexible energy vector, presenting itself as a clean, integrated, and multisector alternative. Its use contributes to mitigating the environmental impact of energy production, favoring the transition to more sustainable models by reducing carbon emissions in industries that are difficult to electrify, from an economic and logistical perspective. In this context, the German Fraunhofer Institute evaluated the economic and technical feasibility of producing Green Hydrogen on a commercial scale in the province of Río Negro. In response, the provincial government promoted actions to raise awareness of this topic among the public through talks, virtual meetings, and information campaigns. It also established a cooperation agreement with the National University of Río Negro (UNRN), which led to a short-term university program called the University Extension Diploma in Green Hydrogen. This paper analyzes the process of building a Social License (SL) for projects related to the development of Green Hydrogen in the province, based on this academic training framework. It establishes the scope of the Diploma cohorts as a basis for citizen participation and detects evidence of the construction of a Social License and Citizen Participation, in accordance with the guidelines established in the Escazú Agreement, on hydrogen production and development projects in the province. An opinion survey was conducted among Diploma participants, structured around two thematic axes: participation and public environmental information on Green Hydrogen, and the relevance of this training in building a SL for large-scale Green Hydrogen projects. The results show that the Diploma facilitated a broad dissemination of knowledge about renewable energies and the use of Hydrogen, generating initial instances of informative participation, in accordance with the provisions of the Escazú Agreement.