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2026 Academic Hydrogen Safety Challenge

Inspiring Action to Transform Culture

2026 CHS Hydrogen Safety Challenge for Students

Apply hydrogen safety to real-world designs and incidents, and build job-ready skills.

Challenge runs: February 2 – April 2

Your Challenge: Put Hydrogen Safety Into Practice

Hydrogen is moving quickly from pilot projects to real deployments and safety knowledge is a career advantage.

The Center for Hydrogen Safety (CHS) is launching a new Hydrogen Safety Challenge for Students for learners enrolled in colleges, universities, technical programs, JATCs (and equivalent programs) worldwide.

Through this Challenge, students will:

  • Apply hydrogen safety principles to realistic industrial or laboratory systems

  • Analyze real hydrogen incidents and identify meaningful mitigation strategies

  • Communicate lessons learned clearly through a short technical video

  • Build portfolio-ready work aligned with real industry expectations

The Challenge helps build a future workforce that prioritizes hydrogen safety while introducing students to CHS resources, tools, and best practices.

Who It’s For

Students:

Teams of students in higher education, technical/trade programs, and apprenticeships looking to build portfolio-ready work and practical hydrogen safety fluency. See eligibility details in the Official Rules.

Faculty & Program Leaders:

A structured, real-world activity you can integrate into coursework, capstones, club projects, or training programs, while helping students gain visibility with future employers.

What You’ll Do (3 parts)

  1. Realistic system design scenario

    Apply hydrogen safety thinking to a practical design challenge.

  2. Incident analysis

    Review real hydrogen incidents and connect lessons learned to safer design/operations.

  3. Communication & lessons learned

    Present findings clearly in a format suitable for employers, portfolios, and peer learning.

Recognition

Winning teams will be recognized at the April CHS Member Meeting and featured across CHS channels. Student participants will also receive digital badges and certificates.

Rules

  • Participation is open to eligible student teams worldwide (colleges/universities, technical programs, JATCs, and equivalent).

  • The Challenge runs February 2 – April 2.

  • Final participation details, deliverables, and judging criteria will be shared with registrants via email.

Challenge Information

Stay in the loop: Sign up for updates and participation details.

FAQ

Who can participate and how do teams work?

Students must be 18+ and enrolled in a college, university, technical program, JATC, or international equivalent during the Challenge. Participants may compete individually or in teams of 2–5 students. Interdisciplinary teams are encouraged. Faculty or industry mentors are recommended but may not complete student work.

How are projects judged and recognized?

Projects are evaluated by CHS staff and expert volunteers using a points-based rubric focused on safety analysis quality, incident relevance, clarity, and communication. Winners are recognized at the CHS April Member Meeting, featured across CHS channels, and receive digital badges and certificates.

There are two winner categories: 1) Universities; and 2) Community colleges and other programs

What will students be asked to create and submit?

Teams will complete three components:

  1. The Entry Form - Due by February 27

    1. Provide a brief description of the system you plan to analyze and your approach for analysis

    2. Provide a brief description of the incident you plan to analyze, including the date and location of the incident

  2. A one-page written explanation

  3. A 2-3 minute video link (with transcript if non-English)