H2 Grand Prix: the program building tomorrow's hydrogen energy talent

How do you ignite a passion for the energy of the future in a technical high school student? The answer that H2 Grand Prix found is as simple as it is powerful: put them behind the wheel. Or rather, have them build, tune, diagnose and race a car powered by green hydrogen. This international program, present in more than 25 countries around the world, is transforming how technical and university education prepares the next generation of engineers and technicians for the renewable energy industry.

The H2 Grand Prix is an international active-learning educational program for secondary technical-vocational and university students. Through the design, assembly and driving of a scale vehicle powered by green hydrogen, participants gain real tools in engineering, chemistry, teamwork and project management. The program culminates in a competition where teams demonstrate not just speed, but technical mastery and understanding of hydrogen propulsion systems.

Learning by doing: the pedagogy behind the wheel

H2 Grand Prix is not a course about hydrogen. It is an experience that makes hydrogen tangible. Each team — formed with gender parity, seven men and seven women plus a coach — receives a scale vehicle running on a hydrogen fuel cell. During the program, students learn to operate the electrolyzer that splits water into oxygen and hydrogen, understand how the fuel cell converts that hydrogen back into electricity to drive the car, and solve real technical problems in real time.

The challenges are real. Participating teams have described how the biggest initial hurdle was complete unfamiliarity with hydrogen as a technology — something new, with no reference in their prior training — and how they had to run many tests to get the battery to last long enough for the race. That cycle of attempt, failure, diagnosis and correction is exactly the kind of learning that produces capable engineers and technicians.

How H2 Grand Prix came to Chile

H2 Grand Prix is an international program present in more than 25 countries. Its arrival in Chile was made possible through a partnership between Corporación Educacional SOFOFA — an organization committed to improving the educational and career pathways of technical students — and Districalc, a distributor of educational technologies present in more than 20 Latin American countries since 1981. Together they identified in the program a unique opportunity: to bring green hydrogen technology directly into the classrooms of technical-vocational high schools and universities, at the very moment Chile is debating its position as a future green hydrogen exporting power.

The program received the support of strategic sponsors committed to the energy transition. Colbún, one of Chile's most important energy companies, became a program partner from the start. From Colbún, they expressed that when invited to participate they were immediately interested and wanted to support it with all their energy, because the company's purpose is to transform energy in balance with the planet — and what could be more meaningful than driving the dreams of students.

The first edition of the program included 14 high schools from different regions of the country. The response was so positive that the program kept growing to reach 25 schools in the current edition. The program was presented and recognized at Hyvolution Chile 2024, the major green hydrogen event in Santiago.

A bet that changes life trajectories

The program's impact goes beyond the technical. The voices of those who participate — from ministers to students — agree that what is at stake is not just learning about hydrogen, but changing the life possibilities of young technical students across the region.

Minister Pardow identified in H2 Grand Prix the kind of bridge that Chilean technical education needs: one that connects classroom learning with the future industries the country needs to develop.

For Corporación Educacional SOFOFA, the program represents a concrete commitment to improving the pathways of technical students.

The program in detail: what students learn

H2 Grand Prix is much more than a car race. Throughout the program, student teams develop competencies across multiple dimensions:

• Applied electrochemistry: they understand how water electrolysis generates hydrogen and how the fuel cell converts that hydrogen into electricity.
• Systems engineering: they diagnose and solve real technical problems, from fuel cell failures to battery range optimization.
• Teamwork and leadership: teams are mixed by design, with the conviction that men and women together can transform the energy industry.
• Project management: they plan, iterate and improve their vehicle throughout the program, developing engineering mindset and resilience.
• Understanding the energy context: they understand why green hydrogen matters and what career opportunities exist in this emerging industry.

Green hydrogen and the potential of a rising industry

H2 Grand Prix did not emerge from a vacuum. It was born in the country with one of the world's greatest green hydrogen production potentials. Chile has extraordinary solar resources in the north and wind energy in the south, positioning it as a potential exporter of green hydrogen to Europe, Asia and North America.

The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) estimates that green hydrogen could meet up to 12% of global energy demand by 2050, requiring millions of skilled workers across the entire value chain.^[1]

For Latin America, the opportunity is twofold: not only to produce hydrogen for export, but also to develop a local industry of clean mobility and decarbonized industry requiring technicians and engineers trained in these technologies.

The students themselves perceive this. In their words: "I am very interested in the future I can build in renewable energy. I would love to continue in this type of project, because it fosters activity and teamwork, and we can learn things we don't see every day."

The program in action

The following segment from the television program Factor de Cambio shows technical high school students working with the hydrogen cars, the qualifying competition, and testimonials from students, coaches, SOFOFA and Colbún representatives:

An international program that keeps growing

H2 Grand Prix is a global program present in more than 25 countries around the world. Chile is one of the program's most active countries in Latin America: in its first edition Chilean teams already traveled to compete internationally, demonstrating the high technical level that students reach. The success of the implementation in Chile has paved the way for expanding the program to other countries in the region.

The program is actively expanding. In Chile it already spans regions as far apart as Magallanes in the far south to the Metropolitan Region, with the declared goal of reaching the entire country and beyond.

Districalc is actively seeking new partners and allies across Latin America to bring H2 Grand Prix to new countries in the region. If you are an educational institution, energy company, government entity or private sector organization committed to the energy transition and the development of technical talent in your country, we want to talk to you.