Aalto University has received two million euros in funding from the Ministry of Education and Culture to establish a hydrogen innovation centre. The H2 Center is centred around Aalto University's multidisciplinary, cross-university hydrogen research, which will now be the core of a robust centre of excellence.
The H2 Innovation Center aims to foster a hydrogen society that realises the UN's Sustainable Development Goals for a carbon-free future. It will seek solutions that not only address the climate challenge but also preserve biodiversity and ensure sustainable land use in the ongoing energy transition. An essential part of this is the establishment of a multidisciplinary doctoral programme at the centre to find solutions for the hydrogen economy. The first PhD students will start at the HIC in autumn 2024.
The Aalto University H2 Innovation Center collaborates with external research organisations and corporate partners. Long-term cooperation and development with industry increases the centre’s impact and will make Finland an attractive destination for international talent and investment.
Creating a sustainable hydrogen society requires, above all, cooperation across research disciplines. Researchers at Aalto University’s schools carry out world-class research on topics such as green hydrogen, the hydrogen economy and various hydrogen technologies, and the H2 Innovation Center will bring this expertise together in a single unit and strengthen it.
Professor Mika Järvinen from the School of Engineering will serve as the director of the HIC, and he will be joined by Professor Tanja Kallio from the School of Chemical Engineering and Professor Marko Hinkkanen from the School of Electrical Engineering as co-directors.
Järvinen sees this broad multidisciplinarity as the HIC’s competitive advantage in attracting international talent. He says that Aalto has long conducted research supporting many key aspects of the hydrogen economy – the most important thing now is to attract more funding and talent to drive innovation.
‘Aalto University wants to build a sustainable future. Research and education across the entire value chain of hydrogen technology and the hydrogen economy will play a key role in this task,’ says Järvinen.
In addition to research, Aalto University also works to educate hydrogen experts through several Master’s programmes. In particular, the multidisciplinary Advanced Energy Solutions programme and the Hydrogen and Electrical Systems programme, which will start in autumn 2024, address the demands of developing a sustainable hydrogen economy.
Aalto University is also involved with other key research and education actors in the Finnish Hydrogen Research Forum. The Aalto University H2 Innovation Center will continue to cooperate with the Forum and with the Finnish Hydrogen Cluster, formed by companies. The Center will also continue the search for new partners and additional funding.
If you would like to be informed of all upcoming activities of the Center, please e-mail Center co-ordinator samuel.cross@aalto.fi to be added to our mailing list.
The Hydrogen Innovation Centre works to enable a sustainable hydrogen society by facilitating world-leading research at Aalto, and collaboration between our research community, companies, policymakers and external research organizations.
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