Both Norway (NO) and India (IN) consider Hydrogen as a promising clean energy carrier that will play an important role locally and globally in complimenting solar and wind energy to become carbon-free nations, respectively by 2050 and 2070. Both countries have ambitions to become leading Hydrogen nations, but studies in both countries clearly show that there is an absolute need for capacity building in both Higher Education and Research (HER) in the whole Hydrogen value chain. There is also an acute need for close collaboration between the Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and the Hydrogen industry in order to tackle the challenges faced by the industry in realizing Hydrogen projects. International collaboration between HEIs is crucial for success in Hydrogen technologies as this will allow HEIs to exchange of knowledge, expertise and best practices and will also give them access to much needed infrastructure facilities for research. Thus, as responsible HEIs committed to our national Hydrogen strategies, we focus in this project on Higher Education and Research Collaboration on Hydrogen and Enabling Hydrogen Technologies (HERCHET) to develop knowledge and skills, drive innovation, equip students with industrial experience and international exposure, engage the civil society in the field of Hydrogen and Enabling Technologies (HETs) in NO and IN.

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In accordance with the Panorama strategy and UTFORSK program, HERCHET will join HEIs, private and non-government sector partners in comprehensive collaboration through student and staff mobility, curriculum development, joint teaching, joint-research and innovation, workbased education, non-academic mentoring, sharing of best practices, skill development, versatile dissemination activities and outreach activities. The overall objective of HERCHET is to enhance and expand the existing collaboration between Western Norway University of Applied Sciences (HVL) and the Indian HEIs, Coimbatore Institute of Technology (CIT), PSG College of Technology (PSG) and Alagappa University by creating a HER consortium with new HEIs from NO (NORCE, Univ of Stavanger (UiS)) and IN (Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) operating under the Ministry of Science & Technology, Govt. of India, University of Madras (UoM)) and private sector partners (PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI), Greenstat, GEXCON, H2Next and Hydrogenium Resources) in HETs and to connect students from Bachelor to PhD level to develop knowledge and skills needed to secure a high quality work force in Hydrogen value chain. HERCHET will contribute to building long-term Indo-Norway partnerships and networks that will enhance the quality of HER at all HEIs and foster opportunities for new industrial collaborations between NO and IN. With the complementary expertise and facilities possessed by the HEIs and industries, by working together, we can address the complex challenges and opportunities related to realizing the Hydrogen strategies of NO and IN. HERCHET contributes also to several SDG goals by developing new knowledge and advancing Hydrogen research through HER partnership activities.