Contest challenges students to design hydrogen community
Showcases talents of entrants in many disciplines; registration deadline Jan. 22
BY GREENING OF OIL
The National Hydrogen Association, or NHA, is accepting entries for the annual Hydrogen Student Design Contest, the purpose of which is to challenge university students from around the world to design hydrogen energy applications for real-world use.
The 2010 competition challenge is to design the basics of a hydrogen community in Southern California. Entrants must work out how hydrogen can be delivered to the community, how initial customers can be found, as well as plan and design a cluster of hydrogen fueling stations for vehicles in the community.
Established in 2004 by the Hydrogen Education Foundation and organized by NHA, the annual contest showcases the talents of students in many disciplines.
Entry for the 2010 “Designing a Hydrogen Community” is open to students in engineering, architecture, marketing and entrepreneurship. Teams can include up to eight students and must also have a faculty adviser.
Registration deadline is Jan. 22. Entries are due March 24.
Winners will be notified by April 7, and the winners will present their design at NHA’s annual conference in Long Beach, Calif., on May 3-6.
Grand prize includes keynote presentation
Awards include a grand prize, which entails unveiling their design in a keynote presentation at the NHA Annual Hydrogen Conference and Expo; a stipend of up to $5,000 to cover airfare, meals, hotel accommodations, NHA 2010 conference registrations and incidental trip expenses for team members and their faculty representative; and “extensive media recognition,” the Hydrogen Education Foundation says on its web site.
Entrants that receive honorable mentions have the “opportunity to give poster presentations of their design” at NHA’s conference, as well as receive complimentary hotel rooms and conference registrations for up to four team members and their faculty representative.
Last year’s contest, winners
The 2009 contest challenged teams of university students from around the world to design a green student center powered by hydrogen for the State University of New York in Farmingdale. Canada’s University of Waterloo in Waterloo, Ontario, won the 2009 grand prize, while two different teams from Wayne State University in Detroit, Mich., claimed honorable mentions.
Entrants were challenged to design an energy efficient building that utilized hydrogen produced from renewable sources for as much of the building’s energy needs as feasible. All hydrogen technologies and systems included in designs were required to be commercially available and ready for implementation for real-world use by June 2009.
Links of interest
Student Hydrogen Design Contest home page
Winning designs from 2004-2009 hydrogen design contests
NHA Annual Hydrogen Conference and Expo
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