Chilean Students Learn Green Hydrogen Using Virtual Reality

Students at two Chilean technical schools can now explore a green hydrogen plant in Patagonia without ever boarding a plane.

The Liceo Bicentenario Industrial de Electrotecnia Ramón Barros Luco in La Cisterna and Liceo Bicentenario Industrial Domingo Matte Pérez in Maipú received state-of-the-art virtual reality headsets through a competition run by Chile's Ministry of Energy. With the technology, students strap on headsets and find themselves standing inside a hydrogen production facility, practicing emergency responses and learning complex energy processes in complete safety.

The initiative supports Chile's National Green Hydrogen Strategy 2023-2030 and expands the Young Talent + Energy program. The program connects technical education with real job opportunities in the booming sustainable energy sector, giving students hands-on experience that would be impossible to replicate in a traditional classroom.

"Virtual reality allows recreating leaks, repairs, and corrections from a preventive perspective, achieving deeper learning," explained Carolina Domínguez, director of Young Talent + Energy. Students can make mistakes, learn from them, and try again without any real-world consequences or geographical barriers.

Senior student Agustina Mendoza captured the excitement perfectly. "The headsets will help us understand green hydrogen on a large scale and see how it is produced," she said.

The VR program joins another hands-on initiative at these schools. Students already compete in the H2 Grand Prix, an international competition where they design and race vehicles powered by green hydrogen fuel cells. Chile launched its own tournament, H2GP CHILE, in 2024, and last year the Ev3ntus team from Liceo Benjamín Dávila Larraín won the national championship. They'll represent Chile at the world finals in Freiburg, Switzerland, this June.

The Ripple Effect

The technology is doing more than teaching chemistry and engineering. The program actively works to increase female participation in energy careers through initiatives like the Woman EMTP+ Energy seminar, which brings together students and industry leaders to discuss how more women can enter the field.

Pablo Kusnir, general manager of SOFOFA Corporation, noted that innovation has become a defining characteristic of their technical schools. "These projects align technical-professional training with the challenges of the energy industry," he said.

By combining cutting-edge technology with environmental education, Chile is creating a generation of young people ready to lead the clean energy transition while making technical careers accessible to students who might never have considered them before.