Kyushu University Students Awarded Grand Prize in the 2012-2013 Hydrogen Student Design Contest

  The team of master's program students in Hydrogen Energy Systems at Kyushu University's Graduate School of Engineering was awarded the Grand Prize in the Hydrogen Student Design Contest hosted by the United States Department of Energy and the Hydrogen Education Foundation (formerly the National Hydrogen Association). At the award ceremony, held at the ACT (Alternative Clean Transportation) EXPO 2013 (the largest convention in North America on alternative fuel and advanced transportation technology), on June 25, 2013, in Washington, D.C., USA, the nine team members were presented with certificates and a trophy.
  This contest is organized with the objective of fostering young researchers who will become leaders of the future hydrogen-based economy and society and is known for being a high level event which brings together many of the latest technologies and experimentations to be placed on display.
  Kyushu University's team was made up of 12 students, most of whom were enrolled in a class on technology management in the master's program. The team drafted a proposal over six months and submitted it to the contest in May this year. The Kyushu University Team's proposal, titled "Development of a Hydrogen Production and Fueling Infrastructure in the Northeastern United States," incorporated the idea of using modular and portable hydrogen stations during the early stages of the introduction of fuel cell vehicles in order to save on investment costs. They also incorporated the idea of building hydrogen station networks to match the types expected by main users at different stages of introduction. The originality and feasibility of these ideas were evaluated as deserving to be awarded the Grand Prize.

[Photo]
(Top) Kyushu University team being awarded a trophy at the award ceremony
(Middle) Commemorative picture of the team taken at the award ceremony