First hydrogen training facility opens for gas engineers

SGN and Fife College are to open the UK’s first hydrogen training facility for gas engineers in the first half of 2024. Based in Fife College’s Levenmouth Campus, the training facility will create a new net-zero workforce in Fife by upskilling more than 200 Gas Safe engineers to work with hydrogen.

SGN has been developing the training courses in partnership with Fife College since June 2022, alongside key stakeholders including Energy & Utility Skills Partnership and the Institution of Gas Engineers and Managers (IGEM).

Engineers who receive the training will work on SGN’s world-first green hydrogen trial, H100 Fife. H100 Fife will supply green hydrogen to several hundred homes in Levenmouth in Fife through a new hydrogen gas network, which is being built alongside the existing natural gas network.

H100 Fife project manager Richard Beedell says: “Our industry needs a diverse and skilled workforce to continue to keep communities safe and warm while we transition towards net zero. We’re delighted to be working with Fife College on building this first-of-a-kind training centre, which brings us one step closer to bringing green hydrogen gas to domestic customers for the first time.”

Training will be delivered by expert trainers with experience in delivering natural gas training, with support from industry professionals. The course will enable engineers to safely install, test and commission the hydrogen supply system in people’s homes, with hydrogen boilers, hobs and meters provided by manufacturers including MeteRSit, Pietro Fiorentini, Baxi, Clean Burner Systems (CBS), BSH and Worcester Bosch.

Jim Metcalfe, Fife College principal, says: “Fife College is honoured and excited to be establishing the UK’s first-ever hydrogen training facility, in partnership with SGN. By upskilling more than 200 gas engineers at our cutting-edge Levenmouth Campus, we are at the forefront of training the vital future workforce the country so desperately needs to make the transition to clean energy. Together with SGN we are proud to be shaping a cleaner, greener future for our local communities.”

SGN CEO Mark Wild OBE, who also chairs the Energy & Utility Skills Partnership, says: “It’s so important to prepare gas engineers today for the skills they’ll need tomorrow. They are the guardians of our gas network, on the front line making sure communities are safe, warm and have access to the critical services they need. They’ll also play a key role in the years to come ensuring our industry is at the heart of the UK’s ambitions to achieve net zero.”