Hydrogen research at the University of Oulu is strengthening its multidisciplinary community to offer high-level collaboration for partners nationally and internationally
University of Oulu is already involved in many national and international hydrogen collaborations and building inner community in between different fields of research is essential for strong cooperation.
Profiling H2FUTURE research programme is working in the center on hydrogen and sustainable steel research at the University of Oulu. One way of building a well-connected multidisciplinary community is H2 What´s up events, organized by H2FUTURE, at the University of Oulu. The events give updates to the students and researchers about research, education and business, or any other activities in the hydrogen domain.
Hydrogen is the hot topic in the clean energy field and the University of Oulu is involved in many projects
The first H2 What´s up event in February at the Univeristy of Oulu gathered a full house to hear the latest news about the hydrogen and steel research. Not only is hydrogen a very hot topic in the clean energy field, but it is also one of the profiling research themes conducted on a high level at the University of Oulu.
Many innovative breakthroughs have been made in Oulu, for example, Professor Ulla Lassi´s research group´s innovation of methane pyrolysis and research done in collaboration between University of Oulu and Imperial College London on photoelectrochemical generation of solar fuels and feedstocks.
Also, the University of Oulu is coordinating a national JustH2Transit research project aiming for a fair hydrogen transition creates an overall picture of the hydrogen transition in Finland. Marko Huttula, the head of H2FUTURE research programme, leads the project funded by Research Council of Finland, and other partners are VTT, LUT-university and BotH2nia hydrogen network.
Recently University of Oulu has partnered with municipality of Utajärvi in Northern Ostrobothnia, that will be one of the first municipalities in Finland to aim for local production and distribution of hydrogen. The multidisciplinary study investigates the production and use of hydrogen in industry and heavy transport. Jouni Juntunen, Professor of Automotive Business at the University of Oulu Business School, leads the study.
Since research on hydrogen- related topics is one of the strongest and most multidisciplinary research themes at the University of Oulu, there is also a need for building a community across different fields of research. Strengthening the role and visibility of the University of Oulu in H2-related research is an important goal.
The attendees of the first event gave very good insights that aligned with the strategy of H2FUTURE research programme
The students and researchers attending the event in February were asked how they viewed the event and what they would suggest reaching the goals of building the community and strengthening the role the University of Oulu in H2-related research. For community building attendees answered: organizing regular, open, multidisciplinary community events and emphasizing a strong, barrier-free foundation, and drawing inspiration from successful models. The series of H2 What´s up events will continue at the University of Oulu to ensure that it will be done.
To strengthen the role of the University of Oulu in H2-related research the attendees suggested promoting future-orientated research and prioritizing public engagement especially through digital platforms. Also fostering strong profiling and collaboration across international networks, businesses, and universities was mentioned.
Collaboration and promoting future-orientated research is something that H2FUTURE research programme is focusing on, which can also be seen already in many ongoing projects and efforts in communications. Also, visibility is growing through media visibility, and digital platforms as webpage, LinkedIn and X channel of the H2FUTURE research programme. The suggestions were very good, and the attendees gave relative feedback that highlighted also the importance of these kinds of events.
H2FUTURE research team is growing: we recruiting 3 Post-doctoral researchers (DL 31st of March 2024), and more recruitments are opening soon.
Next H2 What´s up event will be held 14th of June at the University of Oulu.