Breaking down the barriers to traditional teaching practices, Hydrogen Safe and Ark Immersive will develop a series of immersive training experiences that will give delegates enrolled on the Introduction to Hydrogen Safety course access to working environments using virtual reality (VR).

Working on construction sites and in potentially hazardous settings, the VR training will remove any risk that would be associated with delegates visiting a live site, while still providing them with the opportunity to see a working construction environment in context.

Removing the usual barriers that are faced by teachers, such as cost, time and disruption, this immersive training will focus on the gas and oil pipeline sector, delivering a robust vocational experience to those who will be working in the green energy sector in the future.

CEO and Founder of Hydrogen Safe, Andy Lord, comments: “This is a really exciting opportunity for Hydrogen Safe and particularly for our delegates. We want to do things differently and this is a great example of us putting that theory into practice.

“Embedding immersive experiences into our courses means that we are one of the first training providers to deliver multi-sensory courses. Rather than relying on traditional methods, we are pushing boundaries and showing what can be achieved when we think more innovatively about how we educate tomorrow’s talent.

“Working with Ark Immersive has been brilliant. Using 3D cameras, 360-degree filming and AI rendered imagery we are creating a unique take on extended reality (XR) and showing how it can be used in VR headsets and pods on college campuses.

“With the same approach to exploring what is possible, we can’t wait to see where this partnership takes us.”

Founder of Ark Immersive, Matt Littler, comments: “The reality in education is that a lesson can only go as far as is possible within 45 minutes. Take into account the challenges that come with arranging site visits, such as time and budgets, and it quickly becomes inconceivable for students to gain the onsite experience that would enhance their learning.

“With immersive experiences, we can change all that. We can deliver training that equips an infinitely more prepared workforce for the thousands of jobs that will be available within the green energy sector.

“With pipelines, everything typically happens once. The ground is prepared, the pipes are laid, the lines are tested and then the job is completed. This only provides a finite window for delegates to get live experiences.

“However, with our immersive experiences, this content can be accessed time and again, ensuring those that will be working in those settings can gain a real understanding before ever stepping onto a site or job.

“We approach immersive differently. Rather than looking backwards and focusing on yesterday’s problems, we look forward and solve tomorrow’s problems with innovative technologies embracing the art of the possible.”

Hydrogen Safe and Ark Immersive have already captured footage of a pipeline installation at Hopwood Hall College and University Centre. With pipe supplied by Radius Systems, the footage was captured and used to create extended reality content.

As the first in a series of immersive experiences, the content is now being shared during Hydrogen Safe training that is delivered throughout the UK by specialist training instructors both in person and virtually in person.

In addition to the Level 1: Award in Introduction to Hydrogen Safety Practices, Hydrogen Safe also delivers the Hydrogen Fundamentals full-day and half-day course. The training offered is completely flexible, giving delegates access to the training they need at a time and location to suit them.

Members of Hydrogen UK, the Hydrogen Energy Association and the Hydrogen Skills Alliance, Hydrogen Safe work with businesses, education providers and individuals to deliver courses that suit the needs of an organisation and its prospective delegates.

For more information, please visit: www.hydrogensafe.org.uk