Worcester Polytechnic Institute is collaborating with Western New England University, regional community colleges, and industry partners to prepare workers for roles in the emerging industry of hydrogen energy.
The new program, supported by a $1-million grant from the National Science Foundation, will lead to the creation of a one-year course to prepare workers for careers in roles needed by the hydrogen sector, according to a WPI press release issued Monday.
The program is expected to train 40 people over three years, said Mehdi Mortazavi, principal investigator and associate teaching professor in the WPI Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering. He hopes the program can serve as a role model for other programs seeking to upskill prospective workers in emerging technology fields.
“This program will be unique because it will focus on experiential learning,” Mortazavi said in the press release. “Students will gain theoretical knowledge about hydrogen while also getting hands-on experience during industry internships. After three years, we aim to have a blueprint that can be adapted to prepare workers in other regions for jobs in any emerging technology industry, not just hydrogen energy.”
WPI will work with community colleges in the state to recruit the first cohort of 13 students before the end of the year. Selected students will receive stipends and spend around four weeks training at laboratories at WPI and the Center for Advanced Manufacturing Systems at Western New England University in Springfield.
Following this training, students will be placed in three-month internships with corporate partners.
Hydrogen energy, particularly green hydrogen produced by electricity rather than fossil fuels, is seen as a key factor in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and meeting climate goals.
Headquartered in Devens, manufacturer Electric Hydrogen is working to make green hydrogen more available for industrial uses. The company’s electrolyzers, powerful machines that split water into hydrogen and oxygen, have received attention from investors, allowing the firm to become the first company worth more than $1 billion in the space.
Even as some grants have been canceled, WPI continues to attract funds from federal sources like NSF, despite the targeting of research funding from the President Donald Trump Administration. The university established Research 1 status in February, making it the only Central Massachusetts institution within the top echelon of research institutions.
Eric Casey is the managing editor at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the manufacturing and real estate industries.
