Sacred Heart School Tullamore win Innovation Award in first ever Kinia Hydrogen Grand Prix
Sacred Heart School Tullamore win Innovation Award in first ever Kinia Hydrogen Grand Prix
THE Sacred Heart School Tullamore competed in the inaugural Kinia Hydrogen Grand Prix (H2GP) and claimed the Innovation Award, at the National Arena on Thursday last, April 23. Organised by Kinia, the 3.5-hour endurance race involved five teams with team 'Mystery Machine'.
The 7-member team was awarded the prize based on their creative and technical advancements in the hydrogen car design and presentation. The event was the culmination of an education STEM programme where students designed, built and raced hydrogen-powered remote-control cars.
Five teams from across the country competed for the national finals after qualifying from their regional H2GP Sprint race. This was the culmination of an educational STEM programme where students designed, built and raced a hydrogen-powered remote-control car. SIx prizes were awarded after the race including the Endurance winners (1st, 2nd & 3rd), Innovation, Team Spirit and Pit Stop Awards.
The H2GP is a global racing series and empowers the next generation of engineers, problem-solvers and clean energy champions. Through hands-on, project-based learning students get to enjoy the buzz of designing, building and racing hydrogen-powered cars while also gaining real-world experience in renewable energy technologies.
Speaking about the event, Marianne Checkley, CEO Kinia said: “Today was a great success and we want to commend all the teams and their teachers. An incredible amount of time was put in from each team and they should all be very proud of their achievement of being involved in the first ever H2GP PRO national final.
Massive congratulations to the Sacred Heart Tullamore team, they did their school and county proud! The teamwork, collaboration, ingenuity and problem solving on display was very impressive and a huge amount of credit is due to the teachers, STEM officer and our Education team at Kinia, who provided support to each team right up to the final.
We are very grateful to the Department of Transport for hosting us at the Logistics and Supply Chain Skills event.
A year ago, most of these young people had never heard of a fuel cell. Today, they are Ireland's clean energy ambassadors. Congratulations to all the young participants who built and raced Hydrogen powered cars today. They won't just be witnessing a Digital and Green transition, they’ll lead it."
Kinia acknowledges their partners Research Ireland, SSE, Midlands (Laois, Longford, Offaly, and Westmeath County Councils), and the Department of Education and Youth for their continued support, and would welcome interest from others who would like to get involved or sponsor a team in the next competition.
For more information on the H2GP, visit www.Kinia.ie.