FHA diffusion activities: Disseminating the value of hydrogen technologies
About this good practice
One of the strategic objectives of FHA is to raise awareness of the potential of hydrogen technologies and to gain acceptance of them among both the industry and the general population. Knowledge about the benefits, uses and potential of hydrogen in society is essential to achieve hydrogen trust and a wider penetration in the near future. For this reason, a didactic room was built in FHA facilities with explanatory panels, didactic material, and demonstration models of hydrogen technologies. In this facility, the FHA organises free guided tours for primary, secondary and university level schools or any person or association at local, regional, or international level where, in a collaborative environment, the fundamentals of hydrogen technologies are explained, and their possibilities are shown.
This dissemination activity is adapted to the audience. For that, FHA developed a methodology adapted to the educational level of visitors. Thus, some guidelines were developed and are followed by FHA staff who carry out the activity, so that the technical knowledge explained, the language and the dynamization of visitor participation are adapted.
Resources needed
The necessary funding for the construction of the didactic room was included together with the rest of the offices during the construction of the overall FHa facilities. In addition, a person from the FHA is required to carry out the visits and the duration of the visits is 30 minutes.
Evidence of success
Since the launch of the FHA, more than 600 visits on hydrogen technologies have taken place. The number of annual visits has been increasing exponentially, in line with the promotion of hydrogen technologies by European, national, and regional bodies. In addition, some schools set an annual visit date to the FHA for a certain level of education in support of their teaching activities.
Potential for learning or transfer
Building a space for disseminating hydrogen technologies and developing a methodology for adapting the different scientific and technical know-how is potentially interesting for regions that do not have demonstrative hydrogen projects yet. Thus, disseminating the possibilities of the technology could serve as a first step to increase hydrogen acceptance and promote its applications., Learning and familiarisation with hydrogen technologies through adapted knowledge and demonstration experiments facilitates both the understanding of hydrogen technologies and the dissemination of knowledge at all levels of society.
In regions where hydrogen applications are already in operation, it is also of interest to develop this space to showcase the possibilities of the technology that are currently in full development, with ambitious European targets for deployment in a multitude of sectors.