Revved up for world stage
After a gruelling four hours of endurance, Ingham's Gilroy Santa Maria Velocity Raptors crossed the line in first position at Townsville’s inaugural H2GP race, securing themselves a place at the World Finals in Germany in August.
Thirteen school teams from across North Queensland travelled to Townsville to take part in the race, but it was the Velocity Raptors who stood the test of time.
The event, sponsored by CQUniversity along with industry, state and local government and community organisation partners, aims to provide participants with skills, youth engagement and future career pathways in STEM.
"The program empowers secondary students to hone their STEM skills through collaboration with industry mentors to solve real-world challenges," CQU Project Manager Dr Cal Devney said.
"CQUniversity is proud to nurture young talent and bridge the gap between education and our future skilled workforce."
Director of APAC at Horizon Educational Ales Rakovsky said: “We’re thrilled to be here for a celebration of hydrogen, young people, and innovation. This program is developing Australia’s much needed next generation skills right before our eyes, while securing social acceptance of H2 in our communities. It’s been inspiring seeing what incredible innovations the high schoolers come up with.”
North Queensland Hydrogen Consortium lead and Townsville Enterprise CEO Claudia Brumme-Smith said she was proud to partner with H2GP in bringing a program of global scale to Townsville.
“The H2GP event is testament to the region’s overall contribution and leadership in the nation’s green energy revolution, and hydrogen specifically presents an exciting opportunity for the next generation of North Queenslanders to lead the way in sustainable energy solutions,” Ms Brumme-Smith said.
“We continue to attract global investment from countries such as Germany and Korea, but the future also needs to be driven by local North Queenslanders, and this program has shown firsthand that we are nurturing an engaged and future workforce right here in Townsville North Queensland who are just as excited about this industry’s potential as we are.
“Racing hydrogen cars is a real-life metaphor for our own region’s race in the green energy transition, and we’ve got some young talent at the wheel ready to stand at the podium for generations to come – congratulations to all the schools involved.”
In addition to the winning team that crossed the line in first position, awards were also handed out for the best car design, the team that optimised hydrogen usage and the team that implemented the most modifications or innovative features.
There was also an award for ‘Pit Stop’, the team with the best time and collaboration during a fuel change, and the team that delivered the most compelling presentation to an expert jury.
