On Tuesday, the Municipality of Hrastnik hosted a visit by the Rajko Hrastnik National Hero Primary School, which included two events related to the Interreg SI-AT H2GreenFUTURE project: a presentation of the students’ success in an international photography competition and educational activities in the field of green hydrogen technologies.
International success for a student from Zasavje in the H2GreenFUTURE photography competition
At the end of September 2025, the partners of the H2GreenFUTURE project organized a photo contest entitled Hydrogen – Energy of the Future, which ran from April 15 to September 30, 2025, and was open to the general public. The aim of the competition was to use the medium of photography to highlight the importance and potential of hydrogen as a clean, sustainable energy source and to gain insight into how people perceive the role of hydrogen in the future.
The competition received 23 photographs from 13 participants. An expert committee composed of representatives from all five project partners selected four winning photographs – two from Austria and two from Slovenia. Among the winners was a photograph by Nika Kramžar, a pupil at the Rajko Hrastnik National Hero Primary School, who successfully presented her interpretation of a sustainable future with her photograph Green Valley (Bohinj).
Due to illness, the student was unable to attend the event, so her mentor or teacher accepted the award on her behalf.
All winning photos from the competition are published on the H2GreenFUTURE project website: https://hydrogen-center.eu/zmagovalne_fotografije_natecaja/
Educating students about hydrogen as part of the H2GreenFUTURE project
On this occasion, educational activities carried out as part of the H2GreenFUTURE project at the Rajko Hrastnik National Hero Primary School were also presented. Chemistry and biology teacher Domen Učakar presented the basics of hydrogen, the functioning of fuel cells, and the role of hydrogen as a sustainable energy source to students as part of the elective subject Experiments in Chemistry.
The content was based on educational modules prepared by the Austrian project partner CUAS as part of the project and was supplemented with a practical demonstration of how an electrolyzer and fuel cell work using a so-called “hydrogen suitcase” designed for practical learning.
By connecting with primary and secondary schools in Zasavje, the project partners are joining their Austrian partners in implementing pilot training programs and realizing one of the key objectives of the H2GreenFUTURE project: transferring knowledge about green hydrogen technologies from the research and academic environment to the educational sphere and to teachers and younger generations.
The project partners consider environmentally friendly technologies to be the foundation of a sustainable society. The purpose of such educational activities is to familiarize young people with the importance of innovation, stimulate interest in science and technology, and contribute to the development of knowledge and skills that will be key to the future green and just transition.
