On Tuesday, January 31st 2023, Horizon Educational visited the Fraunhofer IWU in Chemnitz, Germany, to prepare for the Hydrogen Grand Prix (H2GP) German Final, which will take place on May 12th, 2023.

Vaclav Bystriansky, Director of the H2GP, met with Dr. Ulrike Beyer, Head of Referenfabrik.H2 at the Fraunhofer IWU. Referenfabrik.H2 gathers expertise between business partners and Fraunhofer IWU. They research the economically viable production of electrolysers and fuel cells, implementing new technologies and seeking to accelerate their market breakthrough by reducing the cost of hydrogen.

Dr. Beyer and Vaclav presented seven local schools with brand-new H-Cells that will fuel their hydrogen-powered cars in the H2GP race later this year. Students will, over the coming months, construct their cars and form teams that will compete in the German Final on May 12th, 2023, to be held at the Fraunhofer IWU.

Vaclav took the teachers through the details of the H2GP program, giving them instructions on how to fix a hydrogen car in the event it breaks down, how the air-cooled fuel cell stack inside the RC car works, and the logistics behind the upcoming race.  

“We are delighted to continue the H2GP PRO program in Germany and establish a partnership with Fraunhofer IWU,” said Vaclav. “German engineering and precision in car manufacturing is renowned throughout the world. We’ve seen this culture of precision and attention to detail in the victory of the EGE ‘Hydrofoxes’ team in the INNOVATION category at the 2022 World Finals, where they impressed the expert jury with a hand-manufactured model down to the last part.”

“We are excited to see how other German teams will cope with the challenge of building their own FCEV.”

Dr. Beyer said: “The H2GP PRO is a great opportunity to engage the community about the open chances in the field of hydrogen, not just for scholars but especially for local businesses with some fun. This is a perfect showcase where hydrogen technologies can awaken the interest of the young minds to get involved as hydrogen will play a relevant role in the future.”

The Hydrogen Grand Prix (H2GP) program allows local High School students to design, engineer and build a hydrogen fuel cell-powered RC car and race it in region-wide competitions, with the students learning the fundamentals of renewable energy. The program aims to prepare students for a variety of careers in STEM areas.