Pimlico High School enters Horizon Hydrogen Grand Prix

A Townsville high school is entering an international competition to race hydrogen fuel cell remote-controlled cars. Meet the team powering the little engine.

A group of students at Pimlico High School have entered an international competition to design, build and race hydrogen fuel cell-powered remote-controlled cars.

The body behind the Horizon Hydrogen Grand Prix, Horizon Educational, visited the school this week with representatives sponsoring the school, Ark Energy Corporation.

Pimlico will compete against 19 other schools in the first Australian grand prix and, potentially, the international grand prix next year.

Horizon Educational Asia Pacific director Ales Rakovsky said Horizon would supply car components and lesson guides but that student would produce hydrogen from water using small electrolysers and build their own fuel cell-powered car which are about 40cm long.

“Their task is to improve the car as much as possible. The race is an endurance race, it’s not about speed, it’s about driving the car the longest distance. All of the teams will have the same amount of energy,” Mr Rakovsky said.

Pimlico High's Landon Barr and Xian Neale and other students with one of the hydrogen fuel cell remote-controlled cars.

Learning about hydrogen and other renewable energies would equip students for the future, he said.

“Hydrogen is not the only solution but we believe it will be a very important, or it is a very important, component behind decarbonising the world,” Mr Rakovsky said.

Ark Energy is a sister company to the Sun Metals zinc refinery and is developing a hydrogen manufacturing and fuel hub at the refinery, to be commissioned next year.

Ark Energy CEO Daniel Kim said that for them “the future of hydrogen is now”.

“We are really keen to build the knowledge, the skills, the experience locally for a whole range of different renewable energy technologies including hydrogen fuel cell,” Mr Kim said.

Students and the school said they were excited to be part of the program

Pimlico Deputy Principal Christy Guinea said the students were very excited and the school had bought some additional cars for practice.

Also, students would be involved in building courses.

The skills they acquired would be important for their employment, she said.

Originally published as Pimlico High School enters Horizon Hydrogen Grand Prix