HydrogenAlpha Workshop: Inspiring the Next Generation with Hydrogen
2026-03-09T00:00:00Z
Brunel Foundation
Flying into the Future of Hydrogen
Education plays an important role in shaping a sustainable future and inspiring the next generation for future industries, tomorrow's jobs, renewable energy, and creating awareness for the environment in general. By engaging young people at an early age, we can spark their curiosity and creativity, nurture their talents, and show them how innovation and renewable energy can make a real difference in the world.
Through our Inspiring Future Professionals focus area, our mission is to open doors, broaden horizons, and empower future professionals to take an active role in creating a cleaner, brighter future for everyone. We want young people to see themselves as innovators, engineers, designers, and problem-solvers, capable of building a brighter, cleaner future for everyone.
We believe every child deserves the opportunity to:
- Dream big
- Think green
- Discover their role in the world of renewable energy.
From Wind to Hydrogen: Expanding the Journey
We began our journey with a strong focus on wind energy, together with our trusted partner OffshoreWind4Kids. Now, we’re proud to take the next step by introducing hydrogen — one of the promising building blocks of the future energy system.
The Brunel Foundation developed the HydrogenAlpha workshop in collaboration with The Living Lab of the Royal Netherlands Aerospace Centre (NLR). The Living Lab is NLR’s experimental innovation environment, where new ideas and technologies are explored through hands-on experimentation and collaboration. Together, we’re creating hands-on learning experiences that make complex technology understandable, exciting, and fun.
Why Hydrogen?
Hydrogen plays a vital role in tackling climate change — from clean transportation to sustainable industry and energy storage. By introducing this topic early, we give young people the knowledge and confidence to imagine new solutions for a greener world.
Reaching Generation Alpha
With the HydrogenAlpha workshop, our goal is to reach as many children as possible worldwide and inspire Generation Alpha—the generation born between 2010 and 2025.
This generation:
- Grows up in a digital-first world
- Values innovation, diversity, and inclusion
- Cares deeply about sustainability and climate impact
Partnership Royal NLR
The Royal Netherlands Aerospace Centre (NLR) is a leading international research institution for applied research in aviation and aerospace, based in the Netherlands. For over 100 years, NLR has been driven to make aerospace more sustainable, safer, efficient, and effective through innovation. They are a nonprofit and operate independently and objectively, with a focus on multidisciplinary expertise and state-of-the-art research infrastructure (focus areas: industry, civil aviation, space, and defense).
Within NLR, the Living Lab plays a key role in fostering experimentation, creativity, and cross-domain collaboration. The Living Lab connects researchers, engineers, external partners, and society, translating complex technological developments into tangible, accessible concepts. Through the Living Lab, NLR actively explores new ways of engaging future generations with science, engineering, and sustainable technologies, making it a natural partner for initiatives like the HydrogenAlpha workshop.
HydrogenAlpha Workshop
HydrogenAlpha is an innovative, hands-on workshop designed to introduce Generation Alpha (and beyond!) to hydrogen engineering and technology in a fun, accessible way. Through short, engaging sessions, the kids:
- Learn the basics of hydrogen
- Discover how green hydrogen is produced
- Experiment with renewable energy in action
Fun and Impactful
The HydrogenAlpha workshop is designed for events and educational settings. Participants can even create green hydrogen themselves using a solar panel or wind turbine and see how it powers a hydrogen-driven airplane.
Workshop box
The workshop materials are available in Dutch and English. Everything needed to run a complete, engaging workshop is ready to go.
Interested?
Are you interested in supporting our mission or would you like to receive more information about the workshop?
Send an email to foundation@brunel.net or contact Femke or Maritska directly.
Get in touch
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Femke Dijkstra
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Maritska Aarts