Santiago, 28 May. – It was a day of speed, science, creativity, overflowing enthusiasm and talent development. At the Bicentenario Industrial Agustín Edwards Ross high school in the San Joaquín district, the H2 Grand Prix was launched, a practical experience based on the racing of remotely controlled, scale model vehicles powered by a hydrogen fuel cell.

With the presence of different authorities such as the Minister of Energy, Diego Pardow; the president of SOFOFA, Rosario Navarro; the manager of Green Hydrogen of Colbún, Juan Pablo Fiedler; the partner of H2 Chile, Erwin Plett; the executive director of Hyvolution, Francisco Sotomayor, and the former F1 driver and promoter of electromobility in Chile, Eliseo Salazar, the event began with a ceremony in which the scope of this international programme of science and engineering training, aimed at high school students, was valued.

‘Vocational technical education is an education that is a very important part of the jobs of the future, which are those that will sustain our productive capacity in the coming years. Particular instances like these, what they ultimately allow is to change the life careers and dreams of the young people who participate in a positive way,’ said Energy Minister Diego Pardow.

On a perfectly conditioned race track, which was set up in one of the school’s courtyards, a friendly exhibition was held, featuring five of the fifteen high schools participating in the programme organised by the SOFOFA Corporation, students from different high schools demonstrated their skills with the remote-controlled cars they designed and built, all powered by green hydrogen.

‘At SOFOFA we have a strong commitment to education, especially vocational technical education. This is reflected in the more than 40 years that we have been managing technical vocational schools, the advice we have provided to more than 250 establishments to improve quality standards in linking with the productive sector, as well as the recent network of companies for vocational education that we started working this year to generate more training opportunities for young people,’ said Rosario Navarro, president of SOFOFA.

This year, the competition will see more than 15 teams compete in the Chilean final at Hyvolution Chile 2024 on 3, 4 and 5 September at the Metropolitan Santiago Events Centre. The winning team will compete in California, USA, as part of a global science and engineering programme for schools that gives students hands-on design experience through scale vehicle racing.

‘For us as the great green hydrogen showcase, it is a privilege to host the H2 Grand Prix final, because this initiative is a showcase of the enormous human capital we have for renewable energy development, and is a reflection of the enormous interest of young talent to project their presence in the industry’s value chain,’ said María de Los Ángeles Troncoso, Hyvolution’s commercial manager.

The students enjoyed the day and had the opportunity to show the whole process around their scale model vehicles and explain to the authorities part of the process involved in mobilising them through hydrogen. Afterwards, they received a motivational message from ex-pilot Eliseo Salazar.

‘When we were contacted to support the H2 Grand Prix, we joined the project with conviction. In this alliance we see a series of synergies: we both seek to transform energy in balance with the planet, promoting a renewable vector such as Green Hydrogen, and to promote the dreams and projects of young people from all over Chile who will participate in this great programme”, said Juan Pablo Fiedler, H2V Manager at Colbún.

Meanwhile, Pablo Kusnir, General Manager of Corporación SOFOFA closed the unforgettable day with an important reflection. ‘We manage seven Professional Technical High Schools, and the aim is to generate an ecosystem where young people, regardless of their career, vibrate and want renewable energies and be the drivers of what is coming in terms of clean energy for the country’.