In front of a cheering crowd, students competed in their hydrogen-fuelled race cars, all vying for the coveted checkered flag.

Ten race teams, each with about six crew members, from Bowral, Corrimal, and Crookwell high schools, along with Chevalier College, joined hosts Bomaderry High for a race day like no other.

Known as the H2GP Illawarra Challenge - the race was the grand finale of a hands-on STEM program for students and their schools aimed at raising awareness of the career opportunities in the renewables sector.

Under the newly released NSW Skills Plan, the NSW Government has identified energy transition and Net Zero as critical skills areas.

Through the Renewable Energy Workforce Plan, now under consultation, the government aims to deliver skills and employment outcomes for affected communities, particularly in the regions.

The H2GP Illawarra Challenge aims to engage students, develop skills, and highlight STEAM training and employment pathways.

Bomaderry High School careers adviser and co-program organiser Holly Pastor said students demonstrated high levels of teamwork, enhancing their creative and critical thinking skills.

“By giving our students the opportunity to develop their skills in these future-focused careers, we’re preparing them to be the next generation of leaders,” Ms Pastor said.

More than 300 students and staff were on the edge of their seats during the four-hour endurance race.

Team members spent six months learning about the technologies needed to run the cars before designing and building their own.

Organiser Neil Bessant, from the NSW Department of Education’s Regional Industry Education Partnerships team, said the endurance race was an exciting conclusion to the program.

“There are some basic rules the teams have to abide by regarding chassis weight and the fuel cells, but other than that, they can design and make as many modifications to their cars as they like,” Mr Bessant said.

An industry expo that ran concurrently to the challenge involved roughly a dozen industry partners, including the Navy, Mellori, Inside Industry, Nowchem, Transport for NSW, UNSW, UOW, TAFE NSW, MindFlight7, Coregas, Premier Illawarra and Foton Mobility.

Keo Booth, from Corrimal High, said his team the Blu Blurs had made several modifications to its remote-controlled car, including a custom bracket to strengthen and stabilise key components.

“It took a lot of hard work and problem-solving to figure out how we were going to attach different parts of the car,” he said.

Crookwell High student Jasper Woods, from the Flying Fish team, said it took just over a term to get their car race ready.

“We raised the back tyres a bit and lowered the suspension. We swapped out our tyres too because they weren’t gripping,” he said.

With the excitement of race day now behind them, students’ pursuit of renewable energy knowledge, skills, and connections with leading organisations will continue.

Corrimal High students will visit hydrogen vehicle manufacturer ARCC later this month, while students from Chevalier College will travel to the UNSW Decarbonisation Innovation Hub in the new year.

TAFE NSW also offers micro-skills courses in hydrogen technology and clean energy, and two of the participating schools have already booked industry excursions.

The program is jointly supported by the NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, and the NSW Department of Education.