Since the beginning of 2023, the DAAD has been supporting students and researchers from all disciplines wishing to specialise in green hydrogen – a topic of great future relevance. The programme ERA Fellowships – Green Hydrogen (GH2) is open to master’s students, doctoral candidates, and postdocs alike, supporting them in establishing networks and conducting research at internationally renowned institutes. Candidates from all over the world are invited to apply. 

Susanna Mehrstedt has long been interested in green hydrogen. While studying for her bachelor’s degree in geography at Stockholm University, the young woman from Sweden also focused on climate change and the risks it poses – and on ways of curbing global warming. Green hydrogen is seen as a particularly essential element of a climate-friendly future. 

Mehrstedt discovered the programme ERA Fellowships – Green Hydrogen (GH2) on the DAAD’s website. “I had already been trying for many weeks to find a scholarship in Germany,” she explains. “I was immediately excited when I saw that there was a scholarship that could give me the chance to learn a lot about green hydrogen and to share ideas and experiences with others who are interested in the same thing.” Hydrogen is considered “green” if it is produced using renewable energies. 

Susanna Mehrstedt successfully applied for the scholarship. She is one of around 50 young people who have been awarded the ERA Fellowship since the programme was launched at the beginning of 2023. Its goal is to support early-career academics in their research and teaching and to help them establish international networks. GH2 is funded by Germany’s Federal Ministry of Education and Research. 

Interdisciplinary approach 

“One of the programme’s strengths is the fact it is open to everyone,” says Fangfang Xu-Suhren, who coordinates the scholarship programme at the DAAD. It is targeted at master’s students, doctoral candidates, and postdocs, and also follows an interdisciplinary approach. “The programme’s name may initially make you think of natural and engineering sciences,” says Xu-Suhren. “But actually, people from any discipline can apply to the programme if their work is related to the topic. Like economists who are interested in the regulation and market stimulation of new energies. Or social scientists whose research is focusing on energy security or global inequality with respect to new energy sources.” 

Susanne Mehrstedt has been studying “Geography of Environmental Risks and Human Security” since October 2023. The interdisciplinary master’s course is run by the University of Bonn and the United Nations University. “Even in the first semester, I have already learnt so many new things,” she says. “That is a great feeling and makes me excited about the future.” Mehrstedt wants to study how the infrastructure and transport of green hydrogen can be expanded safely and efficiently – an extremely important aspect. “I am interested in seeing how we as a society can tackle climate change in different ways,” Mehrstedt explains her motivation. “Though I don’t believe that technology can solve all problems, I do think it is important when it comes to greatly reducing emissions in sectors like transport.” 

Expansion to include non-European countries 

Originally, ERA Fellowships – Green Hydrogen was designed for Europe and its neighbouring countries, including Tunisia and Morocco. Fangfang Xu-Suhren explains that interest is particularly high among young academics in these countries. “We are delighted that lots of young women from there are also applying.”  

Such as Asma Maamri, an engineering graduate from Tunisia. During her master’s degree in renewable energies and energy efficiency at the University of Kassel and the University of Monastir in Tunisia, she developed a keen interest in the subject of green hydrogen. “After graduating, I decided to do an internship at Rolls-Royce Power Systems, where I worked on hydrogen electrolysis and fuel cells,” she explains. “This experience kindled my passion for the topic and prompted me to conduct further research on hydrogen issues for my master’s thesis at the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE.” To this end she obtained a six-month scholarship – an opportunity Maamri learnt about thanks to a friend in Tunisia.  

Since the end of 2023, the programme has also been open to applicants from other non-European countries, such as Namibia and Ghana in Africa, Brazil and Chile in Latin America, and Japan and South Korea in Asia. 

Early-career researchers from Germany 

The ERA Fellowship programme is also aimed at early-career researchers from Germany. This enabled Malte Rutz, who is currently doing a PhD in mechanical engineering at TU Braunschweig, to spend two months in Glasgow last autumn to work on his master’s thesis. At the University of Strathclyde, he studied how hydrogen electrolysis can be modelled with the aid of artificial intelligence. “Existing models involve simplifications and thus reflect only a fraction of the reality,” explains Rutz. “If the modelling is improved, unnecessary costs can be avoided. This is very important when it comes to establishing a hydrogen economy.” Malte Rutz has very good memories of his scholarship stay. “I met a lot of people and am still in contact with the Scottish university,” he says. “When I was defending my master’s thesis, for example, the head of the research group there took part via an online link.” 

The scholarship actively promotes networking – including with other experts. “Scholarship holders automatically become members of working groups in which they can share ideas, organise events themselves and also get to know professors and industry representatives,” says programme manager Xu-Suhren. “This is a good opportunity for young students and researchers to build up a network.” 

Participants in the programme describe the working groups as very inspiring and a “wonderful resource”. There is also much praise for the communication with the DAAD team: “The people who work there are really engaged,” sums up Malte Rutz. “It’s very noticeable how committed they are to the programme.” 

Verena Kern (26. Februar 2024)