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The concept of setting up a Hydrogen Cluster and the development of methods for obtaining green hydrogen were the focus of a meeting attended by representatives of the scientific community, business and local authorities, organised by the team from the NCU Centre for Technology Transfer (Centrum Transferu Technologii UMK Sp. z o.o.).
Among the panelists, who shared with the participants the knowledge and information concerning the hydrogen economy, were Prof. dr habil. Włodzimierz Jaskólski - Vice-Rector for Cooperation with Social and Business Environment, dr Marlena Krohn - President of the NCU Centre for Technology Transfer, Tomoho Umeda – President of the Hydrogen Technologies Committee at the Polish Chamber of Commerce, as well as scientists from the Nicolaus Copernicus University who develop methods for obtaining green hydrogen: Prof.dr habil. Jerzy P. Łukaszewicz - Director of the NCU Interdisciplinary Centre for New Technologies and dr habil. Krzysztof Zienkiewicz, NCU Prof, also representing the ICNT.
- The idea of setting up the cluster emerged during the hydrogen panel at this year's Welconomy Forum - says dr Marlena Krohn, president of CTT. - The world is changing and we must change together with it. In order to be competitive, we need to be 'hydrogenous', and very soon. The objective of the cluster, if it is established, will be first of all the cooperation with local governments, focusing on the needs of entrepreneurs and developing the awareness related to the future of energy sector.
What are the predictions for this future? - The reality will change in such a way that energy production, fuel production will take place much closer to us - predicts Tomoho Umeda. - Local authorities will play a huge role in this as they become more and more energy independent. The market structure we are used to, i.e. the market of large oil and energy producers, will become more and more fragmented. We are facing a hydrogen boom, and it will happen in a very short time. We can expect an exponential increase in green hydrogen production capacity over the next three years, which also concerns local authorities and the heating industry.
The NCU, as a research university which has knowledge in this field and participates in research projects on green hydrogen, will be an excellent scientific base for local governments and entrepreneurs to draw inspiration and innovative solutions from.
The interdisciplinary team of Prof.dr habil. Jerzy P. Łukaszewicz and dr habil. Krzysztof Zienkiewicz, NCU Prof. is preparing for scientific participation in the "hydrogen revolution". - We are the first in Poland to work on microalgae which we want to force to produce completely green hydrogen - announces Prof. Zienkiewicz. - We still have a lot of work ahead of us: selection of strains that will perform best in this task, obtaining funds for further research, as well as construction of something like a bioreactor in which our algae will grow and the hydrogen released by them will be separated and delivered to a place of storage.
The organisers announce that the cooperation will be long-term and the meetings on developing the Hydrogen Cluster will be continued.
