The first-ever Green Hydrogen Hackathon in Lebanon took place Tuesday Sept. 17th in Beirut, organized by LCEC and the MED-GEM Network, funded by the European Union and implemented by GIZ Ins. This event is part of the regional activities of the “Green Hydrogen Camp: From Theory to Action” program, bringing together engineering students for a day of innovation and creativity around renewable energy and green hydrogen solutions. Under the theme “Towards a Green Hydrogen Valley in Lebanon: Turning Challenges into Opportunities”, four teams of students competed to propose solutions to Lebanon’s energy challenges by leveraging the country’s renewable energy and water resources.

Under the patronage of the Ministry of Energy and Water (MEW) and in collaboration with the Lebanese Center for Energy Conservation (LCEC) and in partnership with EU NEIGHBOURS South, this hackathon is part of the ambitious regional initiative “Green Hydrogen Camp”, organized and implemented by MED-GEM Network. Funded by the European Union, this program—whose first edition took place in Morocco last July—aims to raise awareness and build the capacities of students in Bachelor's, Master's (M1/M2), PhD, and final-year engineering programs, all passionate about green hydrogen and renewable energies. In August, during a summer school, the selected Lebanese candidates received a certified Power-to-X online Training, offered by MED-GEM Network in partnership with the International PtX Hub and PtX Academy. This certified training has prepared the candidates, who are likely to become future Lebanese experts, to address the challenges of the energy transition by exploring advanced Power-to-X technologies.

The teams, each consisting of a duo ensuring gender parity, worked on solving the central challenge of the hackathon, developing master plans, case studies, and roadmaps for implementing their projects. The participants were guided by a dedicated team of mentors from the MED-GEM Network, including Frank Wouters, director, Mustapha Taoumi, key expert, and Raya Verniers, communication expert, who participated online. On-site support was provided by Dr. Joseph Al Assad, senior expert at the MED-GEM Network and dean of the School of Engineering at USEK, Dr. Sorina Mortada, technical consultant at LCEC, and Hadi Abou Moussa, senior energy engineer, who offered valuable insights to the competing teams. Throughout the day, the candidates developed innovative solutions to address the central question: “How can Lebanon’s challenges be turned into opportunities while leveraging its renewable energy and water resources to create a small-scale green hydrogen valley?”.

The participants were tasked with developing master plans considering technical feasibility, economic viability, environmental and social impacts, and regulatory requirements. Their projects were evaluated based on their potential to overcome challenges related to the production, storage, distribution, and utilization of green hydrogen and green ammonia.

The jury panel—comprising Frank Wouters, Pierre Khoury, Ali Berro, Ibrahim Mallah, and Toufic Rizkallah—evaluated the projects, and two finalist teams were selected to move forward. The two finalist teams, Team Mariam El Jamal and Rodger Akiki and Team Rayan Al Sarih and Omar Allahham, will now embark on an additional month of intensive mentoring. During this time, they will refine and further develop their solutions in preparation to present their final projects to a prestigious jury at BEW 2024, taking place in late October.

Their journey continues as they work to perfect their ideas and compete for the top prize. The top team will win a study trip to FAU Erlangen University in Europe, funded by the European Union through the MED-GEM Network.