Hydrogen hackathon draws in young inventors

Fuel cell developer, Arcola Energy, recently held a hackathon event at Aberdeen City Hydrogen Energy Storage (ACHES) in Cove.

Young people aged between 8 and 18 received a tour of the hydrogen refueling station while taking part in the event.

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100 young inventors took on the challenge across the UK with the event in Aberdeen being supported by Aberdeen City Council and Hydrogenics (the company that built and operate ACHES).

Supported by some of the world’s global technology giants including Toyota and Shell, the Arcola Energy Hydrogen Hack is an extension of the firm’s long-running, not-for-profit Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) education programme.

The events aimed to raise awareness among young people of the benefits of hydrogen fuel cell technology – set to become a key, underpinning, low-carbon energy technology across many industry sectors and to inspire them
into further study and careers in engineering.

The Hydrogen Hack is a creative, innovative and fun way for young people to learn more about renewable energy, hydrogen and fuel cells.

The Hydrogen Hack took place throughout the week starting on Monday 21st August in centres across the UK, with the teams attending a national final hack event at Ravensbourne College in London on Saturday 26 August, where the winner received the inaugural Arcola Cup.

Council Yvonne Allan, Convener of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure said: “Aberdeen City Council is a leader in the hydrogen technologies. The cities two refueling stations and a growing fleet of hydrogen vehicles, show our continued commitment to the development of hydrogen and fuel cells, “We were delighted to support this event in Aberdeen which provided an excellent opportunity for the next generation of budding engineers.”

Arcola Energy’s Managing Director, Dr Ben Todd said: “The Hydrogen Hack is an exciting development of our long-running Schools Hydrogen Challenge programme.

“There is a real shortage of new engineers here in the UK, which weakens our capabilities to innovate and build world-class engineering firms.

“The UK also has the lowest percentage of female engineers in Europe, recently reported by UNESCO as being just 9% . Our programme is helping to address this missed opportunity – girls thoroughly enjoy our schools programme and very often win our challenges.”

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