Hydrogen Production and Clean Energy Systems

Start with who needs hydrogen produced by electrolysis and its supporting systems and why. Around energy firms, industrial users and transport fleets drive demand in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and the other emirates.

• List 10 offers or suppliers in the UAE with price per kg in AED and who buys.
• Interview 5 people from energy firms, industrial users and transport fleets: what do they buy now, how often, what do they pay, what annoys them?
• Learn three terms: Electrolyser (a unit that splits water into hydrogen and oxygen using electricity); Purity grade (the percentage of hydrogen in the gas delivered); Hazardous area (a zone where gas could ignite and equipment must be rated for it).
• Write a one-page brief: user, need, hoped-for price, and the rule that matters most.

Activity. Complete the market table, five interview notes and the brief.

Standard to meet. Price ten offers, interview five users, and state one need in one sentence.

Know the rule before the work. Main hazards here: high-pressure gas, fire and electrical faults. Hazard thinking means list each step, ask what could go wrong, and decide the control.

• Ask your local authority or free zone which licence, permit or inspection applies. Write the answer and the date you asked.
• For each step (feed water and power; electrolyse; purify and compress; store and dispatch) write the hazard and the control.
• Use a hierarchy: remove the hazard, replace it, separate people from it, change the way of work, then protective equipment last.
• Keep a one-page incident rule: who you call, what you stop, what you record.

Activity. Draw the flow and mark hazard and control at each step.

Standard to meet. Name a hazard and a control for every step, and answer the licence question in writing.

The work is a short chain: feed water and power, electrolyse, purify and compress, store and dispatch. Learn each link, then link them with records.

• Write a checklist for each of the 4 steps: input, action, check, output.
• Time each step three times and note the slowest.
• Record a defect or delay each time it happens: what, where, cause, fix.
• Measure kilograms of hydrogen in specification per day; this is your main number.

Activity. Run the chain three times (simulated or real) and fill the log.

Standard to meet. Complete three logs, and give the slowest step a cause and a fix.

What you do not measure you cannot improve. Your main measure is kilograms of hydrogen in specification per day.

• Define kilograms of hydrogen in specification per day: what counts, what does not, and over what period.
• Draw a simple chart of the last 10 results and mark the average.
• Find the top two causes of loss with a tally sheet, then fix the biggest one first.
• Check measuring tools: are they accurate, clean and in date?

Activity. Collect a tally for one week and make a Pareto chart.

Standard to meet. Complete the tally, name the biggest cause, and plan one fix with a date.

Know the cost of one kg before you set the price. Include materials, labour, energy, transport, licence share, waste and a safety margin.

• Cost per kg = total cost divided by kg sold (not made).
• Margin = (price minus cost) divided by price.
• Break-even units = fixed costs divided by gain per unit.
• Test the price with two users and write down the answer.

Activity. Build the cost sheet with AED on every line and have your mentor check it.

Standard to meet. Check that no cost is missing, and calculate the margin twice by different routes.

Customers return when you keep promises. Promise only what your workflow can deliver.

• Write a one-page offer: what is included, what is not, price, time, how you fix mistakes.
• Write a short script for the first call or visit.
• Agree dates in writing; confirm each change.
• Handle a complaint in four steps: listen, apologise for the impact, fix, record what changed.

Activity. Present the offer to two users and note changes.

Standard to meet. Write an offer with scope, price, time and a fix rule, and collect comments from two users.

Small, real and recorded. Change one thing at a time and learn quickly.

• Keep a daily log: date, units, cost, delays, defects, safety notes.
• Hold a 15-minute review each week with your mentor.
• Write down every complaint and what you changed.
• Take photos only where allowed and never of people without consent.

Activity. Complete 30 days of the log and four weekly reviews.

Standard to meet. Log 30 days, give each defect a cause, and keep weekly notes.

A decision beats a feeling. Compare plan with result and choose to scale, change or stop.

• Make a before and after table: cost per unit, defects, delays, repeat users.
• Write three lessons.
• Decide scale, change or stop, with the numbers behind it.
• Give two peers one strength and one fix each.

Activity. Present to a review room and collect one written comment from a user.

Standard to meet. Justify the decision with numbers, and give two peer reviews.

An electrolyser uses electric current to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. Knowing how much power and water go in tells you how much gas should come out.

• Water in, direct current across a stack of cells, hydrogen out at one side and oxygen at the other.
• As a rule of thumb, making 1 kg of hydrogen takes about 9 litres of pure water and roughly 50 to 55 kWh of electricity.
• The water must be very clean, so a treatment step removes salts before the stack.
• Heat is a by-product; cooling water carries it away and the temperature has a safe window.

Activity. Calculate hydrogen output, water use and power cost per kg for one 8-hour run, using sample figures.

Standard to meet. Show units on every line, check the arithmetic twice, and state water and power each per kg.

Hydrogen is light, leaks easily and burns with a flame that is hard to see in daylight. Safety rests on rated equipment, ventilation and strict permits.

• Hazardous areas are marked on a drawing; only equipment rated for the zone may be used there.
• Fixed gas detectors raise an alarm at a low share of the lower flammable limit (about 4% hydrogen in air); know the alarm levels and the action at each.
• Pressure vessels have relief valves set above working pressure; never isolate one without a signed permit.
• Static electricity can ignite gas, so use earthed tools and wear the rated antistatic clothing.

Activity. Mark the hazardous zones on a sample plant sketch and write the first three actions for a gas alarm.

Standard to meet. Match the zones to the drawing, order alarm actions safely, and check that no step relies on bypassing a protection.

A plant earns its keep by delivering gas in specification and using little energy. Daily records show whether it is doing that.

• Purity is checked on a sample at set times; a batch below the grade is held and not dispatched.
• Efficiency is the energy in the hydrogen divided by the electricity used; falling efficiency can signal a worn stack.
• Track kg produced, kWh used and hours running each day in one table.
• Compare each day with target and write the likely cause of every miss.

Activity. Fill a five-day table from sample data, compute kWh per kg and flag the days above target.

Standard to meet. Give every figure a unit, and flag days over target with a cause or next check.

On the slide: L1 Basic · What an electrolyser does

Notes: Name the four steps from water to dispatched hydrogen and say what an electrolyser does in one sentence. Notes: use a simple sketch with no live plant; ask learners to point to where water goes in and where hydrogen comes out.

On the slide: L2 Awareness · Gas hazards and the permit rule

Notes: Describe why hydrogen is dangerous (high-pressure gas, fire, electrical faults) and state that work is done only under a competent supervisor with a site permit. Notes: teach that the flame is hard to see in daylight and that gas alarms start at a low share of the lower flammable limit, about 4% hydrogen in air; learners match each hazard to one control.

On the slide: L3 Foundation · Calculate water and power per kg

Notes: Apply the rule of thumb of about 9 litres of water and 50 to 55 kWh of power per kg to a sample run, under supervision. Notes: check the practice case of 2,000 kW for 10 hours at 52 kWh per kg gives about 385 kg and about 3,465 litres; every line needs a unit.

On the slide: L4 Practitioner · Log a 30-day output record

Notes: Run the four-step chain in a simulated or supervised setting and log kilograms of hydrogen in specification per day for 30 days. Notes: record kWh per kg each day against the 54 kWh per kg target and give a cause for every day over it, such as a cell cleaning delayed by 3 hours.

On the slide: L5 Specialist · Find the biggest loss and decide

Notes: Analyse a tally of faults, fix the biggest cause first and decide to scale, change or stop with the numbers behind it. Notes: use 22 of 40 faults from late inputs (55%) as the practice case; the price check is AED 21 per kg against a cost of AED 16, which is a 23.8% margin; check that the cost figure covers the power cost of about AED 13 per kg from the electrolyser sums.

On the slide: L6 Advanced · Coach a shift on gas alarms

Notes: Set a gas-alarm drill, a permit check and a daily log review for a small team working under a competent supervisor. Notes: sample five daily logs a week against a checklist; the drill must stop the compressor, keep people upwind, call control and wait for a gas test below 5% of the lower flammable limit before restart.

On the slide: L7 Super expert · Design the whole plant control system

Notes: Design the safety, purity, efficiency and cost controls for a plant that makes 5,000 kg a month, audit one risk and set a 12-month plan. Notes: break-even at fixed costs of AED 16,000 and a gain of AED 5 per kg is 3,200 kg; hold any batch below purity grade; present one risk, one saving and quarterly targets for kWh per kg.