The Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung (BAM) and the Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg (BTU) have jointly founded the Graduate School "Trustworthy Hydrogen". It aims to ensure the development and establishment of hydrogen technology in the long term by qualifying excellent young academics. The Graduate School, which is unique in its kind in Germany, is intended to enable doctoral students in a three-year programme to actively shape the development and expansion of the hydrogen economy in Germany and Europe as future leaders in industry, research and the public sector.
Hydrogen is a key element for the transformation of the economy and society towards climate neutrality. The transformation of the energy system to a hydrogen economy will require a large number of highly qualified specialists in the coming years. Up to now, there has been a lack of suitable qualification programmes.
The "Trustworthy Hydrogen" Graduate School of BAM and BTU closes this gap. Both institutions, which cooperate in research and teaching, are leaders in Germany in research on modern hydrogen technologies. In 2020, BAM has bundled its long-standing activities in the field into the Competence Centre H2Safety@BAM.
At the BTU, numerous disciplines are conducting interdisciplinary research into the production and use of green hydrogen. The doctoral students of the new Graduate School not only have access to the outstanding hydrogen expertise of BAM and BTU and a unique research infrastructure. They also benefit from a large network of national and international partners in industry, science and politics.
For the first time, the Graduate School Trustworthy Hydrogen will train hydrogen experts who will have in the end a comprehensive knowledge of the entire value chain as well as a deep knowledge of the framework conditions and safety standards required for the market implementation of hydrogen. The programme is rounded off by soft skills in fields such as science communication and policy advice. At the end of their training, the graduates have all the prerequisites to position German and European companies or scientific institutions as central players in the global hydrogen economy.
"Hydrogen technology is currently experiencing a great deal of momentum. As the market ramp-up approaches, there will be a growing need for flexibly deployable generalists. With the establishment of our joint Graduate School, we are setting the course in good time for the training of these excellent young scientists and thus securing Germany's leading position in the field of hydrogen in the long term," explains BAM President Prof. Dr. Ulrich Panne.
"The Graduate School Trustworthy Hydrogen will be groundbreaking for the development of hydrogen technologies in the Berlin-Brandenburg region and far beyond," says BTU President Prof. Dr. Gesine Grande. "For the BTU, I see this cooperation as an outstanding opportunity to further develop our scientific expertise together with BAM and to create excellent career conditions for our young scientists."
The first PhD positions for Trustworthy Hydrogen have already been advertised (read more here). The application deadline is 3 June 2022, and the Graduate School will start on 1 October 2022.
This article was first published on 11 May by BAM.
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