The Institute of Energy Saving and Energy Management of Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute has implemented a certificate program dedicated to solving the problems of hydrogen energy, water technologies, energy and transport. The Ukrainian Hydrogen Council, an energy association, provided the institute with an automated mechatronic transport complex - a Toyota car running on hydrogen.
"This is indeed one of the most advanced hydrogen technologies available in the world today. Hydrogen is the fuel for the hydrogen fuel cell, the fuel cell generates electricity, and thus is driven by the car's electric motor. This stand is an example of a modern alternative decarbonization technology in transport. There is no exhaust at all - there is not even a tailpipe. According to my data, there are two such cars in Ukraine, and we have one of them. There are very few of them in Europe, they are mostly concentrated in Japan," says Serhii Boichenko, head of the Department of Automation of Electrical and Mechatronic Complexes.
Students will do practical and laboratory work on the car model: they will study the car's design, how it works, and try to improve the system. Another mission of the project is to popularize modern technologies in transportation.
"We see that in Ukraine, hydrogen cars should follow the scenario of electric cars. At first, it was a very unusual story, but now there are a lot of them in Ukraine, they have all the necessary infrastructure, and they are developing dynamically. One of the issues we are dealing with is the development of hydrogen filling stations and the preparation of a methodological framework. With a certificate of completion of our program, a master's degree holder will be more competitive and in demand in the labor market," says Serhii Boichenko.
"In general, hydrogen is the future. In the future, cars and buildings will use a hydrogen fuel cell. And hydrogen can also be used to generate electricity, which means reducing carbon dioxide emissions," says Mykhailo Antonenko, a 2nd year master's student.