Students build green hydrogen generator
Unique collaboration between vocational education (MBO), higher professional education (HBO), and university education (WO): practical craftsmanship and theoretical knowledge reinforce each other.
Unique collaborative project
GRONINGEN – Students from vocational education, higher professional education, and university have jointly built an innovative green hydrogen generator. This assignment is part of Waterstof Werkt: H2 Train and Learn Hub, a project to prepare and make available several thousand well-trained employees for a hydrogen career in Groningen and Drenthe.
The green generator, which runs on hydrogen through a fuel cell instead of fossil fuels, is a first in the region and demonstrates how energy supply at events and construction sites can be made completely emission-free. While these kinds of technical innovations are often developed in research centers or companies, this one has now been realized by students themselves.
collaboration between vocational education, higher professional education and university education
What makes this project special is the intensive collaboration between students from different educational levels. Vocational students from Alfa College and Noorderpoort played a central role in the construction, partly supported by knowledge and research from the Hanze University of Applied Sciences and the University of Groningen. This collaboration demonstrates how practical expertise and theoretical knowledge reinforce each other. This earned the students the Entrance Student Award in June, an incentive prize for students to contribute to the energy and raw materials transition during and after their studies. They also received a platform at the international Wind Meets Gas, a symposium in Groningen focusing on hydrogen and offshore energy.
It's inspiring to see how our students, each drawing on their own unique education and background, have collectively created tangible innovations. This is precisely what the energy transition demands: collaboration, innovation, and courage.
- Jogchem Meinema, project leader of Waterstof Werkt: H2 Train and Learn Hub
Learning, working and researching in the hydrogen economy
The H2 Train and Learn Hub was established to train students and professionals in working with hydrogen technology. Hydrogen is playing an increasingly important role in the energy transition, as it can replace fossil fuels and serve as a long-term storage solution for renewable electricity to balance our electricity system. In the development of the hydrogen economy, it is essential to ensure a sufficient number of skilled workers for this new technology and its applications. This project, working with education and businesses, ensures the availability of a qualified workforce to address the hydrogen challenges.
By actually building a hydrogen generator, the students gained not only technical knowledge but also skills in teamwork, project management, and innovation. This generator represents an important step toward a future in which hydrogen plays a key role in sustainable energy supply. The project serves as a source of inspiration for other educational institutions and companies that want to collaborate on the energy transition.
About the project
Waterstof Werkt: H2 Train and Learn Hub is a collaborative project in Noord-Nederland that trains students and professionals in the application of hydrogen technology. The project has received funding from the European Union through the Just Transition Fund (JTF) and the National Groningen Programme (NPG). Partners of Waterstof Werkt: H2 Train and Learn Hub are Alfa-college, DC Terra, Noorderpoort, Hanze University of Applied Sciences, NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences, and New Energy Coalition.