Various professionals in the field in hydrogen are indispensable to realize the hydrogen society. In the special articles, the efforts from the past to the present activities are introduced. We should learn and contribute to increase professionals as many as possible for further development of hydrogen technologies.

Up to the present hydrogen professionals have been trained by participating national hydrogen projects such as WE-NET project and on the job training at companies in industry. As the demand for trained workforce for development of hydrogen related businesses and for promotion of commercial projects will be grown in industry soon, development of educational programs and training initiatives on hydrogen technologies are required to train hydrogen professionals intentionally. And also the training of young engineers who will comprise the next generation workforce needed for industry in hydrogen energy field is important.

Doctoral theses on hydrogen energy were searched, and both early acceptance of the concept of hydrogen society and steady achievements in bringing up of professional persons were recognized. Academia has been accompanied by governmental institutes, with thickness and constancy of company professionals superimposed. Timely proposals uttered by presidents of HESS would have supported the researchers, who are apt to be exposed to naysayers’ oppositions. The world’s first opening of the hydrogen society in Japan has not been realized by accident.

Department of Hydrogen Energy Systems in Graduate School of Engineering, Kyushu University, has been established in April, 2010. Histories of its establishment and the educational concept in this Department are explained. The educational program to realize the concept is described. Achievement thorough our activity in this Department is verified with the satisfactory employment trend.

Fukuoka Strategy Conference for Hydrogen Energy is hosting “Fukuoka Personnel Training Center for Hydrogen Energy” that is established in 2007. In this article, activities of the center are summarized, and some considerations are made about “the human resourcesrequired from the industrial sector”.

We have developed a new composite material for hydrogen tanks. The newly developed composite material, a clay-based film, has high hydrogen gas barrier performance and high durability. The preliminary test results show that the hydrogen gas barrier performance of this material is better than those of other polymer materials by approximately two or three orders of magnitude. This material is applicable to lightweight hydrogen tanks for use in aircrafts, spacecrafts and vehicles.