STARTING THE COURSE FOR TECHNICIANS ON THE HYDROGEN-POWERED MOBILITY

The team of the EU UpHyMob project team has met in Lisbon this week to continue the development of a training programme aimed at technicians on hydrogen-powered mobility, which will start next January.

This marks the beginning of the third phase of a project in which it is working as expected, through the following milestones:

• Study of the hydrogen mobility sector with the aim of assessing the training and skills upgrading needs required in the jobs.
• Design of a training programme in MOOC format on the competences to be acquired by professionals and students aiming to work in th sector.
• To train 100 people with the programme designed by introducing and testing new methodologies and academic itineraries.
• Evaluation of the results of this training and work on the recognition, validation and integration of the new requirements and qualifications in the relevant educational systems to further improve and develop training in the hydrogen mobility sector.

During these days at the Instituto Superior Técnico, a reputed engineering institution of the University of Lisbon, the partners of the four countries participating in this European project, Spain, Greece, Belgium and Portugal, validated the material developed by the San Valero Group, which, in addition to participating in the first phase of the project study, has acted as coordinator in the development of the curriculum of the study, has developed part of the contents of the programme, as well as designed and implemented the manual for trainers and tutors.

Next January, 100 students from any of the European Union countries will begin this 30-hour online study programme. This programme represents a significant step in improving skills and knowledge in the hydrogen mobility sector, contributing to the advancement and innovation in this ever-growing field.

The UpHyMob project was approved in the framework of the ERASMUS+ Programme under its modality "innovation development" for strategic partnerships. Hydrogen is expected to play an important role in global decarbonisation goals. In this respect, the European Commission already has an ambitious hydrogen strategy, with the objective of achieving a steady production of renewable hydrogen in the short term, by investing heavily in the mobility sector. Indeed, Hydrogen Europe expects 10,000 hydrogen trucks on European roads by 2025 and 100,000 by 2030. In order to support the move towards a hydrogen-based transport sector, there is a pressing need for manpower (specifically technicians to be employed in the sector) with a specific set of skills, such as vehicle parts ordering and inventory management, vehicle instrumentation, diagnostics and repair of H2 powertrains, installation and maintenance of hydrogen refuelling stations, following the protocol for refuelling H2 vehicles. Therefore, the qualification of the workforce is of vital importance and is the only way to avoid unemployment due to the imminent shift to a green mobility sector.

For further information please contact internacional@gruposanvalero.es