A study on willingness to pay of hydrogen energy and fuel cell technologies

The portable hydrogen fuel cells (PHFCs) are still on the preliminary stage as 3C application products, and the consumers' acceptance of such new products and their external variables have yet to be clarified, therefore, this paper adopts the contingent valuation method (CVM) to discuss consumers' purchasing intention and estimate the extra willing-to-pay price (WTP price) for PHFCs. Findings indicate that the purchasing intention can be influenced by lifestyles, demand motives, product features and information sources. In addition, the WTP premium of the consumers in whole samples is NT$915.17; the practical consumers - NT$710.81; the taste consumers - NT$1129.46 and the herding consumers - NT$906.25. The research findings are hoped to provide reference for the manufacturers in making strategies, to improve the market competitiveness and acceptability of the products and to achieve the goal of promoting green consumption and sustainable development.