News : DIU: Knowledge transfer and innovation: Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Lippmann on hydrogen in practice

Prof. Lippmann, we are delighted that we have been able to appoint you as Scientific Director of the »Hydrogen Technology and Economics« course at Dresden International University. Can you give us an insight into your motivation to take on this position and how your previous career has prepared you for it?

I have been working on issues rela­ting to the use of hydro­gen tech­no­lo­gies in the con­text of the energy tran­si­tion for over thirty years. We focus on safety stra­te­gies for the use of hydro­gen in a non-indus­trial envi­ron­ment and on sel­ec­ted tech­ni­cal inno­va­tions for elec­tro­ly­sers. For the lat­ter, we use spe­cial laser tech­no­lo­gies to modify the reac­tive sur­faces of elec­tro­ly­zers in such a way that their effec­ti­ve­ness is impro­ved and their ser­vice life exten­ded. As dif­fe­rent as the two topics sound, they both have one goal: to make hydro­gen available to the eco­nomy chea­ply, relia­bly and safely. Both prio­ri­ties also require a deeper under­stan­ding of the role of hydro­gen as an energy sto­rage medium in a future world domi­na­ted by elec­tri­city. Based on this work, I find it very inte­res­t­ing to pass on know­ledge and dis­cuss cur­rent issues with the stu­dents. In the best sense, tea­ching is not just a one-way street, but a crea­tive dia­log. I find it fasci­na­ting to be able to make a con­tri­bu­tion to this.

The »Hydrogen Technology and Economics« Master’s degree program at DIU is unique in its focus and in Germany. What particular challenges and opportunities do you see for the degree course and for teaching in this specialized field?

The »Hydro­gen Tech­no­logy and Eco­no­mics« Mas­ter’s degree pro­gram at DIU is desi­gned to appeal pri­ma­rily to peo­ple who alre­ady have pro­fes­sio­nal expe­ri­ence and would now like to expand and deepen their spe­cia­list know­ledge in this field. We know from pre­vious cour­ses that the stu­dents have very dif­fe­rent spe­cia­list know­ledge and pro­fes­sio­nal expe­ri­ence. This is cer­tainly a chall­enge, as we natu­rally want to ensure that the lec­tures, semi­nars and prac­ti­cal cour­ses on offer are con­sis­t­ently inte­res­t­ing and ins­truc­tive for ever­yone. We have the­r­e­fore desi­gned the course con­tent in such a way that both suf­fi­ci­ent basic know­ledge is impar­ted and highly inte­res­t­ing, up-to-date rese­arch results are pre­sen­ted in a clear man­ner. The sel­ec­tion of lec­tu­r­ers was cho­sen spe­ci­fi­cally to ensure that this is suc­cessful. On the other hand, the diver­sity of the stu­dents also pro­vi­des a uni­que oppor­tu­nity to learn from each other’s expe­ri­en­ces in an open and crea­tive exch­ange of ideas. In our view, the stu­dents are the­r­e­fore also part of the know­ledge exch­ange its­elf. Modern con­ti­nuing edu­ca­tion can only work in this com­bi­na­tion. What counts in the end are gra­dua­tes who finish their stu­dies with the cer­tainty that they have lear­ned some­thing useful and that they also enjoyed lear­ning.   You can read the full inter­view on the web­site of DIU.