Hydrogen Student Design Contest
About the Contest
Since 2004, the Hydrogen Student Design Contest has challenged multi-disciplinary teams of university students to apply their creativity and academic skills in the areas of design, engineering, economics, environmental science, business and marketing to the hydrogen and fuel cell industries.The Contest is open to undergraduate and graduate students worldwide. Multiple teams from one institution are permitted. Submissions are evaluated by a diverse panel of judges that include industry representatives and officials at U.S. Department of Energy.
Theme
The theme of the 2016 Hydrogen Student Design Contest is “Development of a Hydrogen Powered Micro-Grid to provide grid support during peak hours and full back-up power.”The Contest will challenge undergraduate and graduate students to design a renewable hydrogen powered micro-grid capable of solely supporting a town or military base for approximately 2 days, and be able to handle at least 10% of peak demand while the macro-grid is active. The system should utilize local resources to produce and store hydrogen as well as provide hydrogen dispensing capabilities to hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (HFCEVs). The system should be optimized for as little environmental and economic impact as possible.
Eligibility
The Contest is open to undergraduate and graduate (including Ph.D.) students worldwide. Team members must be enrolled in a college or university at the time of abstract submission but do not have to be enrolled full-time. Students who are working or researching part-time in the field or a related field of the Contest topic may participate.Students who are enrolled at a university at the time of abstract submission, but will graduate before July 31, 2016, may still participate.Given the multi-disciplinary nature of this competition, teams are highly encouraged to include students with various expertise, including: industrial design, engineering (all types), economics, business, environmental science, policy, chemistry, marketing, education, or any other field of study relevant to the team’s design. A team with students from diverse backgrounds will help address non-technical sections much better than a homogenous team.Each team is limited to a maximum of two faculty advisors. The faculty advisors must be faculty members of a college or university. Adjunct and emeritus faculty are welcome to serve in this capacity. Faculty advisors may give guidance and suggestions but cannot perform actual design work. Faculty advisors can advise more than one team, but they must assist in ensuring that the teams work independently to maintain a fair competitive atmosphere for all participants.Multiple teams from one institution are permitted. However, each team must work independently to keep the competition fair for other teams.Teams are encouraged to include members from only one school. If collaboration between different schools is desired, the team leader and designated faculty advisor must request approval by submitting the team registration form with a cover letter to vmedici@ttcorp.com. Teams with students from more than three schools are not allowed.A team of about 8 students is recommended, although teams with no less than 3 or up to 12 students are allowed. Teams may not exceed 12 students at any time. In cases where more than 12 students are interested in participating in the Contest, students are encouraged to split into two separate teams.Please send an updated team roster to vmedici@ttcorp.com if any changes to your team roster are made after original registration).You can register here.