AltGen’s Fireside Chats: Finding Skills at Scale for Green Hydrogen
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Crucial Skills, Lean Teams, and AI at Scale
For our third Fireside Chat, we will discuss the obstacle that scale poses to the development of green hydrogen projects. When we think of scale, particularly when it comes to renewable energy projects, the industry likes to think big. Scaling up on both skills and knowledge is crucial to the success of green hydrogen projects which will undoubtedly require many skills at varying levels, but there certainly is not a one-size-fits-all when it comes to building teams…
We spoke to developers and project experts, who in collaboration with their partners, currently have green hydrogen projects underway. This time, however, we also spoke to professionals involved in creating innovative new ways to share knowledge at scale using AI technology. We will continue to explore the use of AI in the energy industry in our fourth and final green hydrogen-focused Fireside Chat.
AltGen’s Burning Questions
- What really is the biggest barrier facing Africa’s green hydrogen economy? (We touched on this question in our first Fireside Chat, click here to read more!)
- Realistically, how long will it take Africa to fully develop and begin producing green hydrogen?
- Will carbon taxes cause destructive delays in Africa’s green hydrogen transition, or will they propel them forward? (We touched on this question in our second Fireside Chat, click here to read more!)
Continuing the conversation from our last article, our panellists include WKN Windcurrent’s Power-to-X Programme Manager, Akhil Woodraj, Green Hydrogen Independent Consultant Olaf Marting, and a warm welcome to a new panellist – Dylan Evans, Co-founder of Beeline.
Top challenges shortlisted by our Panelists
Today we’ll be tackling the second challenge…Policy and Legislation. This Fireside Chat is the second in a series of four on the feasibility of green hydrogen projects in South Africa.
- Communication
- Policy and Legislation
- Finding Skills at Scale
- Overload of Information
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Finding Skills at Scale: Number Crunching
There are several scale-related factors that come into play when we talk about renewable energy projects. All, however, can be connected back to financial viability. The economic viability of green hydrogen projects lies primarily in the cost of equipment, storage, and distribution. While engineers and creatives rush to develop ways to make the price of low-carbon hydrogen technology more competitive, the rest of the industry must focus on scaling up.
“Economies of scale pose a cost benefit to green hydrogen projects due to the complex scope that often includes infrastructure, renewable energy and equipment
– Akhil Woodraj, Power-to-X Programme Manager – WKN Windcurrent
1) A proper look at skills needs assessments at all levels of employment
Without ample motivation, high-carbon emitters will likely drag their feet in the race to decarbonise. This is where government and policymakers must step in. For corporates to see the climate crisis as something that needs to be addressed today, and not in a decade, we must consider it a financial crisis, not solely an environmental crisis. Threaten the bottom line and people start to pay attention to the conversation.
“In addition to engineering qualifications, vocational skills are also a necessity for green hydrogen project to be successful.”
– Akhil Woodraj, Power-to-X Programme Manager – WKN Windcurrent
“Most of the skills are available, it’s the experience that’s lacking, that’s where the risk sits.”
2) Moving away from a ‘not seeing the wood for the trees’ kind of perspective
“Traditionally, organisations have focused on proactive learning, rather than reactive learning. But now, people need to know a lot more, and a lot quicker, learning on the go is a must.”
“AI is a ‘golden age’ and solving problems that were once in the realm of sci-fi”
– Jeff Bezos
“The first people to take up things, the outliers, the few that see the world differently, they are the creators of the solutions that will transform our current reality. They need a strong voice to stand up and advocate for them, one louder than the naysayers.”
