Taking (remote) control of Queensland’s future energy needs - meet the students striving for success in Australia’s first Hydrogen Grand Prix
Taking (remote) control of Queensland’s future energy needs - meet the students striving for success in Australia’s first Hydrogen Grand Prix
How many high school students can say they’ve built a car using a fuel of the future? Student teams from around Queensland are doing just that as they prepare for Australia’s first-ever Hydrogen Grand Prix
The sound of (very small) engines hummed through CQUniversity’s Gladstone campus recently, as more than 80 high schoolers from seven Central Queensland schools gathered to show off their progress designing and building hydrogen-powered remote control race cars, part of the inaugural Horizon H2 Grand Prix (H2GP) Australia series.
Running for the first time in Australia, the H2GP initiative is a global school-based science and engineering program run by Horizon Educational, providing hands-on experience designing, engineering and racing remote-controlled fuel cell electric vehicles powered by hydrogen.
20 teams from Queensland, Victoria and NSW began the program in Term 4, 2022, and will soon compete in a series of endurance races. Their efforts will culminate at the Australian Hydrogen Grand Prix Finals, taking place in Gladstone on 21 April 2023, with the best Australian teams going on to compete internationally in the H2GP World Final later in 2023.
Learning how to build a hydrogen-powered race car
The schools were delivered educational kits in September 2022 with all the electronic, structural and fuel components needed to build a functioning remote-controlled car powered by hydrogen fuel cells.
After exploring the basics of fuel cells, and how to operate the car, student teams then had free rein to reconfigure and change the car’s design and components, weight distribution and operation using 3D printed parts (and their own ingenuity!).
Year 9 student Benny, Team Leader of the Toolooa State High School CQ Hydro Jets, says his team has been working hard to improve their car.
‘We received the car about seven weeks ago and put it together. Since then, we’ve been working to improve it,’ he says. ‘We’ve 3D printed different parts to make it lighter and improve it, we’ve changed the design and we’ve moved parts around to make it more efficient.’
Upskilling young Queenslanders with an education in hydrogen
Partner Up Queensland CQUniversity Regional Coordinator Dr Cal Devney, one of thedriving forces behind H2GP program in Gladstone, says it provides students with a range of educational opportunities.
‘Horizon Hydrogen Grand Prix is an event where we have young people engaging in design technology, science and digital technology, building teamwork and problem-solving skills,’ Dr Devney says.
‘We’re supporting them to become aware of what hydrogen is, what renewable energies are, and how all of that can play into our day-to-day lives.’
A large part of the education process is teaching students exactly what hydrogen is, and how it can be used as a sustainable and renewable energy source.
The most succinct explanation of a hydrogen race car goes to Faith Baptist Christian School Year 9 student Kate: ‘We’re using hydrogen cell sticks, which are charged with distilled water which charge another battery in the car which makes it go vroom.’
From remote control cars to secure careers
This project is just one of the ways the Queensland Government is committing to preparing the workforce of tomorrow with the skills they need to thrive in emerging industries such as renewable hydrogen.
William, 15, from Gladstone’s Chanel College says the H2GP program has given him an insight into a future career that would keep him in the region he’s grown up in.
'I do want to have a career in hydrogen in the future,' he says. 'I think it would be good to be able [to work with] all the infrastructure that they’re building up here in Gladstone. I think in the future it could be a very large part of the Queensland economy.'
Many other local students have already identified careers that will fit right into the emerging strengths of the region.
Keith, 15, from Gladstone State High School tells us his ideal career will be as a mechanical and chemical engineer, while Toolooa State High School Year 9 student Sophie plans to build on her H2GP racing team role as Chief Engineer, with her dream field of mechatronic engineering, offering her 'coding mixed with software and mechanical'.
Powering Queensland’s renewable energy future
Ellaisha, 13, from Chanel College, says renewable energy is the key to our future.
'I think renewable energy is what many people are following the path on right now because we know that fossil fuel is coming to an end,' she says. 'We need to come up with solutions to help our environment so that we can live a more healthy lifestyle for the future.'
15-year-old Junior from Calliope State High School echoes this sentiment.
'Renewable energy is the way of the future – it means less fossil fuels and less pollution,’ he says. ‘Renewable energy is an unlimited energy source used to power homes and houses, buildings, businesses – anything that uses power.’
Ananya, 16, from Gladstone State High School, agrees, adding 'There’s no other way to go – fossil fuels are so outdated!'
The Queensland Government has been proud to partner with Central Queensland University (CQU) and industry partners to host the inaugural Australian H2GP program in Central Queensland, supporting our future hydrogen workers in Gladstone through the only guided program in the world that provides hands-on experience through designing, engineering and racing hydrogen-powered remote-controlled cars.
Last updated: 14 Jun 2023