Educating Europe’s Hydrogen Workforce: Groningen Hosts Hands-On Hydrogen Training

Eighteen participants took part in a two-day practical course on Fuel Cell and Electrolyser Technology at the University of Groningen on 10-11 November 2025, gaining hands-on experience with hydrogen systems through experiments, demonstrations, and guided instruction.

As Europe accelerates hydrogen deployment, HyAcademy is working to close the skills gap by creating training formats that provide learners with direct, practical insight into hydrogen technologies. The Groningen course reflects HyAcademy’s mission in action—delivering accessible, practice-oriented learning to support the emerging hydrogen workforce across Europe.

A Training Course at the Interface of HyAcademy and Green SKHy

The event was delivered at the intersection of two complementary initiatives: HyAcademy, which develops innovative hydrogen education pathways, and INTERREG NWE Green SKHy, which is creating practical training schemes for Europe’s hydrogen workforce.

This collaboration enabled the course to function both as a HyAcademy learning opportunity and as the second prototype in the Green SKHy pilot phase. The training was organised by the University of Groningen together with Deutsche WINDGUARD, PLANET GbR, and Future Solutions.

A Practical Learning Experience

Participants—ranging from Master’s students and PhD candidates to early-career professionals—worked directly with fuel cell and electrolyser setups to explore system behaviour, component interactions, and hydrogen safety.

The programme was led by hydrogen experts Professor Robert Steinberger-Wilckens and Dr. Birgit Thoben, who combined targeted lectures with extensive hands-on experimentation.
 Key learning topics included:

●      Fundamentals of fuel cell and electrolyser operation

●      Hydrogen chemistry, physics, and safety

●      System performance under load and diagnostics

●      Material behaviour and experiment-driven investigation

Supporting Europe’s Hydrogen Skills Development

For HyAcademy, courses like this are an essential step toward building a coherent European framework for hydrogen education. Insights from the Groningen training will feed directly into HyAcademy’s broader work on curriculum development, teaching resources, and cross-border knowledge exchange. These outcomes will also contribute to the rollout of five full Green SKHy training courses in 2026, aimed at vocational schools, universities, industry training centres, and other organisations committed to hydrogen workforce development.

The final prototype course will take place in Yverdon, Switzerland, on 2–3 December 2025, paving the way for five complete Green SKHy courses in 2026.

By advancing and supporting hands-on training opportunities, HyAcademy is helping build the skilled workforce needed to drive Europe’s hydrogen transition—from research and innovation to industrial deployment.