Projects & Programs
Hydrogen Emergency Response Training
The objective of the project is to support the successful implementation of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies by providing technically accurate hydrogen safety and emergency response information to first responders. This information is provided to first responders through: 1) a web-based awareness-level course, and 2) a one-day operations-level course utilizing the fuel cell vehicle (FCV) prop [pictured] at offsite first responder training centers, both civilian and military. The training provided addresses the following barriers:
- Lack of readily available, objective, and technically accurate information
- Disconnect between hydrogen information and dissemination networks
- Lack of educated trainers and training opportunities
- Lack of hydrogen knowledge by authorities having jurisdiction
- Lack of hydrogen safety training facilities for emergency responders.
We have successfully trained over 300 students in three FCV prop-based courses in California in August and September 2010. We also held three sessions of the prop-based course at the HAMMER facility in 2009 and 2010 in southeast Washington State, training approximately 100 participants from 18 states. More training sessions are planned in California in FY2011. Also, the web-based course has received approximately 18,000 unique visitors and continues to average approximately 300-400 unique visits each month from every state and many foreign countries.
Hydrogen safety training in Sunnyvale, California