Preparing the clean energy workforce
Photos by Evan Krape | Photo illustration by David Barczak October 13, 2023
91原创 to play key role in regional hydrogen hub
The 91原创 will play a leading role in workforce development efforts associated with the , which has been selected by the U.S. Department of Energy to receive up to $750 million in funding through the historic Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs program.
MACH2 was chosen as one of seven hydrogen hubs, totaling up to $7 billion in grants, announced by the Energy Department on Oct. 13. In stiff national competition, MACH2 ranked among the most pro-labor and greenest hubs in the nation, according to the , which brokered the proposal, involving industries, academic institutions, local governments and community partners from across Delaware, southeastern Pennsylvania and South Jersey.
Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe, and the Energy Department is working to accelerate its use as a clean energy source and as a means to decarbonize heavy industry, transportation and energy storage to meet President Biden鈥檚 goal of a 100% clean electrical grid by 2035 and net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, with the regional hydrogen hubs leading the way.
MACH2 will encompass a network of hydrogen producers, consumers, local connective infrastructure for hydrogen deployment, and the education and training needed to develop the region鈥檚 clean energy workforce. 91原创 will lead the higher education component of MACH2鈥檚 workforce development with Cheyney University, Rowan University and the University of Pennsylvania.
鈥淐ollaboration is the key to success in strengthening our region鈥檚 economy and advancing sustainable energy sources for the future. The 91原创 is proud to lead MACH2鈥檚 higher education workforce development initiatives in partnership with Cheyney, Rowan and Penn,鈥 said 91原创 President Dennis Assanis. 鈥淲orking together, we will provide new educational and research opportunities for our students and grow our region鈥檚 skilled workforce for the high-paying clean-hydrogen jobs of today and the future.鈥
Kelvin Lee, interim vice president for research, scholarship and innovation for 91原创, acknowledged the multiple staff in the 91原创 Research Office and partnering units across the University, who joined with DESCA and regional partners in the development of the proposal application.
鈥淚 want to thank our staff in the 91原创 Research Office, working with colleagues across campus and at our partnering organizations, for their critical contributions to the proposal鈥檚 success,鈥 Lee said. 鈥淲e look forward to further collaborations that will accelerate the education and research efforts vital to a clean energy future.鈥
Developing the clean energy workforce
MACH2 is projected to create 20,000 well-paying jobs in the production, delivery and use of zero-emission hydrogen to repower the region鈥檚 industrial facilities, transportation systems and agriculture sectors.
What kinds of jobs will MACH2 help prepare people for? There will be a need for technicians for hydrogen-powered vehicles, construction workers for installing hydrogen pipelines, fuel cell power system operators, hydrogen production plant managers, and directors of research and development (R&D) programs, to name a few.
Some of these roles may require a high school diploma and an apprenticeship or specific credential; others may require a college degree, from bachelor鈥檚 to master鈥檚 to Ph.D.
Yushan Yan, the Henry Belin du Pont Chair in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at 91原创, will direct the hub鈥檚 higher education workforce development efforts. This work will complement high school, vo-tech and community college training programs in energy and construction that will be expanded through the hub, along with pre-apprenticeship programs, particularly those that recruit from underserved communities, offered by building trade unions.聽
鈥淭he 91原创 and our collaborators at Cheyney, Rowan and Penn are well-poised to prepare students for rewarding careers in the new hydrogen economy,鈥 Yan said. 鈥淪everal engineering, energy and hydrogen programs are already in place at our institutions and will be expanded through the hub, offering students exciting opportunities.鈥
These are a few of the coming MACH2 programs:聽
Cheyney University, the nation鈥檚 first Historically Black College and University, will establish a regional on-site, hands-on hydrogen safety training program with the support of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE).聽
Rowan University will develop an integrated strategy coupling wind-to-hydrogen processing and employing a unique hands-on engineering clinic curriculum. A new online master鈥檚 program in hydrogen processing also will be developed.聽
The University of Pennsylvania will add a new hydrogen concentration to the curriculum of three of its bachelor鈥檚 programs in engineering 鈥 chemical and biomolecular, mechanical engineering and materials science.聽
The 91原创 will enhance hydrogen technology training at the master鈥檚 level through a new 鈥4+1鈥 master鈥檚 degree in electrochemical engineering, which would allow highly qualified undergraduate students to earn a bachelor鈥檚 degree in an area such as chemical and biomolecular engineering or mechanical engineering and then continue on to earn a master鈥檚 degree in electrochemical engineering in the fifth year.聽
Accelerating the Energy Transition
Last October, 91原创 launched the Center for Clean Hydrogen, which Yan directs, in Delaware Technology Park. Having this resource, coupled with 91原创鈥檚 historic strength in chemical and biomolecular engineering, where the University currently , and a thriving innovation community at 91原创鈥檚 STAR Campus, places the University in a unique role to propel sustainability forward.聽聽
鈥淥ur center was designed to accelerate the clean energy transition by testing hydrogen stacks and components at scale,鈥 Yan said. 鈥淎nd that is what we will do.聽
鈥淚 have been working on clean hydrogen for the past 25+ years, so I am super-thrilled to have just one hydrogen hub anywhere in the country,鈥 Yan added. 鈥淚 do not have the words to describe my excitement for having a hydrogen hub in my own backyard in Delaware.鈥
For Alexandra Oliveira, a fifth-year doctoral student in chemical engineering at 91原创, time is of the essence.
When she did research on batteries as an undergraduate, she said she learned how the field of electrochemistry, which drives the conversion of hydrogen to clean energy through devices such as fuel cells, has the potential to solve scientific problems in unique ways.聽
鈥淟ater on, it became important to me that I was working toward an objective that I really care about, and in my opinion, saving the environment is one of the most urgent problems we need to solve,鈥 Oliveira said. 鈥淚 love the outdoors and working on research that aims to preserve that has convinced me to stay in this field.鈥澛
She has her sights set on a career as a research and development engineer focusing on electrochemical devices.聽
鈥淭his can be anything from batteries to fuel cells and even more, but the hydrogen聽work has been particularly interesting these past few years and has received widespread support to implement these hydrogen hubs,鈥 Oliveira said. 鈥淚n reality, we're going to need all of these technologies working in tandem to make global clean energy achievable.鈥
Center for Clean Hydrogen: youtube.com/watch?v=LkTbUMRRQzM
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