Make it easier for all ages to get started with hydrogen in a fun way
Bianca Brinner and her father Andreas publish a hidden object book that explains the production and use of hydrogen
Today, there are picture books for countless everyday situations: In mostly large-format illustrations, they show children countless details of a situation; in short, they are teeming with information conveyed in a visual way. Bianca and Andreas Brinner want to show that they can be used to describe far more complex topics than city life, the fire brigade or a day at the zoo: In the fall, their picture book “Green Hydrogen for Beginners” on the subject of hydrogen will be published by Steinbeis Edition. TRANSFER spoke to the father-daughter duo about this unusual publication project.
Ms. Brinner, electrolysis and hydrogen production are complex, technically demanding topics – the first thing that comes to mind to explain them is not a picture book. But as an illustrator, you followed exactly this approach: How did the idea for this unusual project come about?
Bianca Brinner:
Hydrogen has always been part of our everyday family life, as the topic has been part of my father’s professional life for decades. We came up with the idea for this project after I finished my first picture book last summer. At that time, there was a lot of discussion not only about the high energy costs at the time, but also in our family about my father’s impending retirement.
During discussions in my environment, I noticed how little people actually know about hydrogen production and hydrogen in general. The idea of using my father’s specialist knowledge to develop a children’s book quickly arose. Because there is currently not much easy-to-understand content on the subject of hydrogen production. It is a complex topic that I have also shied away from up to now – but through working with my father, I realized how comparatively simple the production processes are. We looked at photos of his work and he explained the processes to me. For example, I was able to learn about the project in Esslingen, where hydrogen is used in combination with a construction project. I was excited about that.
Hidden object pictures and books are great media because not only do they contain a lot to discover, but they also explain things without using or needing language. You don’t necessarily have to be able to read, but you learn by discovering the pictures. And so we came up with the idea of bringing the technical content to life and actually locating it in projects that have already been implemented. It is not a topic that has not been researched: hydrogen production can be traced back to the invention of the battery by Alessandro Volta around 225 years ago. This aspect can also be found in our book.
With our picture book, we not only aim to explain the complex process of hydrogen production, but also to provide more introductory education. After all, who knows what an electrolyzer looks like, or that there are different types of electrolyzers? That’s exactly what we show in the book, which is intended to make it easier for all ages to get started with the topic of hydrogen in a fun way.
Mr. Brinner, fuel cells and hydrogen have been part of your entire professional life, long before the topic was on everyone’s lips in technological terms. What fascinated you about this technology so early on?
Andreas Brinner:
The possibility of generating the chemical energy carrier hydrogen gas from water and electrical energy in a single process step and using the same process to convert the hydrogen back into electricity is fascinating. You are not tied to a thermodynamic cycle with limited efficiency. There are no harmful waste products, because the starting material water is not consumed, but only broken down into its elements hydrogen and oxygen and reassembled into water at different times and locations. Hydrogen can also be used universally as a secondary energy source in energy supplies, as a fuel in transport and as a chemical raw material. The electrochemical process step requires no moving parts, is silent and highly efficient and was discovered around 60 years before the development of the internal combustion engine.
In your opinion, where do we currently stand technologically when it comes to the development and use of green hydrogen and what hurdles do we need to overcome?
Andreas Brinner:
Technologically, we have fully developed all the necessary components and, in most cases, have already brought them to series production. Worldwide, we have decades of experience in handling and operating electrolyzers and fuel cells for all areas of application. The development of the necessary safety technology for handling hydrogen and the formation of corresponding testing organizations began more than 150 years ago. Technologically, we are very advanced. The biggest hurdles are still that fossil energy is too cheap and that the environmental consequences of its use are still not adequately taken into account financially. In addition, the storage of renewable energy in hydrogen to ensure a secure supply of energy, fuel and raw materials is not being developed on an equal footing with the development of renewable energy supplies from solar, wind and hydropower in order to stabilize the energy supply and avoid the curtailment of excess generation capacity.
Ms. Brinner, the Steinbeis Edition of the Wimmelbuch will be published in October, just in time for the Frankfurt Book Fair. Who is your target group? For whom is the book suitable as an introduction to the topic of hydrogen?
Bianca Brinner:
I would say that it is intended for someone like me: anyone who is looking for an introduction to the world of hydrogen but doesn’t want to read technical books or is afraid of complex topics. And above all, anyone who wants to understand more about how much innovation and possibilities there are behind hydrogen technology for the future is our target group. In terms of age, we address children as well as adults.
The picture book “Green Hydrogen for Beginners” will be available from the Steinbeis Edition online shop from mid-October:
www.steinbeis-edition.de
READ the latest news shaping the hydrogen market at Hydrogen Central
Make it easier for all ages to get started with hydrogen in a fun way, source
