South and City College Birmingham has opened a training facility to support the necessary skills to service and maintain hydrogen-fuelled vehicles, including bus fleets.
It is located on the college’s Bordesley Green campus and funded by a £1.5 million grant from the Office for Students. A partnership between the establishment and Enginius, part of vehicle manufacturer Faun Zoeller, has seen the purchase of a Bluepower hydrogen-fuelled refuse collection lorry to facilitate realistic training.
The 450 square metre workshop meets all industry specifications including robust ventilation and safety systems and includes vehicle lifts and an EV training area. Mayor of the West Midlands Richard Parker carried out the ceremonial opening.
The college says that the hydrogen vehicle training courses offered apply equally to the bus sector as to others. Principal Mike Hopkins notes that “commercial fleet operators such as National Express and local authorities operating refuse collection and road sweeping vehicles will require suitably trained engineers to maintain those fleets.”
He adds that opening of the hydrogen vehicle training facility will “provide a major pipeline for jobs for young people and for upskilling the automotive workforce in the region.”
The immediate focus of the facility will be on the latter, as well as supporting higher education students on foundation degrees to access real-world training opportunities. It will also provide “unique new pathways” for lower-level students who can then progress, the college says.
Opening of the hydrogen training premises furthers a longstanding collaboration between South and City College and the Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI) on the development of courses for learners. The facility will deliver the IMI Level 1 hydrogen awareness qualification.
IMI Managing Director Azlina Bulmer says the Institute has “a clear vision to support people and businesses in the automotive sector as new technologies such as hydrogen grow in popularity and demand.”
Adds Ms Bulmer: “It is critical that those working in the sector gain the knowledge to work with this alternative fuel source safely, and we are delighted to support the delivery of the IMI Level 1 hydrogen qualification as part of the college’s curriculum.”
South and City College Birmingham also intends to use the workshop and vehicle as a research and development facility. Plans are in hand for a Level 4 course focused on diagnosing faults on vehicles with live hydrogen instead of simulating them.
