By Arj Ganesan

ABC North and West SA

Topic: Science and Technology

Five students from Whyalla are in an international hydrogen car race.

In short:

Five teens from Whyalla are in the H2 Grand Prix World Finals in Switzerland.

They got an invite after a setback at last year's world qualifying race.

What's next?

The team must raise $100,000 to get to Switzerland and compete against global teams.

Whyalla was called the Hydrogen Hub before the steelworks closed.

Now, high school students are taking Whyalla's hydrogen potential to the world stage.

For Simon Coppins, it's a chance to see two years of work pay off.

Simon Coppins wants to be an engineer.

The H2 Grand Prix involves building a hydrogen-powered RC car and completing laps.

Team manager Caelan Kaminski says consistent lap times are key to success.

It's about pacing yourself, not being the fastest car.

Team manager Caelan Kaminski

The team was disqualified at the South Australian world qualifying event in 2025.

The outcome was heartbreaking for the team that spent hundreds of hours on their car.

The Whyalla team spent hours building and working on their cars.

Simon spent three hours and 30 minutes driving without blinking.

They were close to their goal.

The mistake was a simple misunderstanding about swapping batteries.

The RC cars are fuelled by hydrogen that the team produces.

The team didn't need to swap batteries and would have won if they hadn't.

The team got another chance this year.

The race changed its scheduling format to align with the northern hemisphere's calendar.

Qualifying events for the Asia Pacific will be held the year before.

There were no qualifiers for the Switzerland competition in Australia.

The team is practising ahead of their race in Switzerland.

The organisers invited high-performing teams, including Whyalla, to the June meet.

It's a big opportunity for the team to prove Whyalla's worth.

The students spent hours tinkering with their model cars.

Teacher Trudi Wynn is proud of how her students acted after disqualification.

The students were gracious in defeat.

It was disappointing, but they interacted with sponsors and apologised.

The team is an excellent representation of Whyalla.

Teacher Trudi Wynn praised the team for handling setbacks with grace.

The competition inspires students to study STEM.

This is why Trudi Wynn is a teacher.

Trudi Wynn's father was an inventor, and she likes problem-solving.

The team needs to raise $100,000 to cover costs for the trip.

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