This year Women in Green Hydrogen participated very actively in the hy-fcell expo which took place on September 13 and 14 in Stuttgart.

A 30 minute session at the expo’s “Speaker’s Corner” highlighted the role of women in developing innovative hydrogen technologies. The objective was to look in the future and provide first-hand information to the audience on R&D projects that are working on the next generation of products in the sector. Marie-Eve Reinert from the Steinbeis Europa Zentrum (SEZ) chaired the session during which three speakers presented and discussed various technologies. Irene Robles Garcia from SEZ presented a new hydrogen storage technology based on nano materials (metal organic framework) currently developed in the EU-funded project MOST-H2. Then Marta Rubio (SEZ) addressed new approaches to use hydrogen to decarbonize the glass industry, as tested in the EU-funded project H2GLASS. Finally, Carina Holzapfel, CEO of h2mc-heating, added a start-up perspective to the session by explaining how she is working to get a brand new heating technology on the market.

During both fair days, participants visited the Women in Green Hydrogen booth, organized by Carolynn Jaworska from the Hydrogen Council. This was the perfect opportunity to promote the network, and invite female visitors to join the different proposed activities. Also male visitors where very curious and came to the booth to get information on the network, with questions about how their companies or organizations could interact with Women in Green Hydrogen.

Towards the end of the fair a few ideas emerged during informal discussions around the booth:

  • First, it was observed that there is still little contact between women in the hydrogen sector in the region around Stuttgart. The opportunity to create a regional group on social media or even to organize physical meetings, as already existing in other regions, could be considered.
  • Second, the team that was in charge of the booth noted that one recurring question was asked by almost all men visiting the booth: can Women in Green Hydrogen help to get in touch with candidates for open job positions? Attracting and hiring qualified staff is of course one of the big challenge of the sector. The visitors where very curious to know if Women in Green Hydrogen is addressing this issue and acting to facilitate hiring. Of course, some WiGH participants in the networks are already communicating about open positions (e.g. on the LinkedIn account of the network or by directly contacting participants). The idea came up to propose more specific events to establish contact between women looking for new positions and companies with open positions. The exact ways this could be implemented was not yet discussed
  • Finally, more efforts seem necessary to make the sector visible to the youngest. Inspiring and encouraging students and pupils in high schools to get ready for implementing the hydrogen economy it of utmost importance. Inviting students or even organizing specific activities for a younger audience during fairs and industrial events are possible actions. Women in Green Hydrogen could contribute by ensuring that all are addressed equally about the opportunities in the sector. Presentations in schools and universities by women working in the sector could be an action promoted by Women in Green Hydrogen. In this way, Women in Green Hydrogen could add (even more) value to the sector.