Sacred Heart School to represent Ireland in World Final
Sacred Heart School, Tullamore will represent Ireland in the 2026 Hydrogen Grand Prix (H2GP) Sprint World Final - the pinnacle event of the global hydrogen education programme.
The four-strong team consists of team captain Katie Payne, Ramona Szkutnik, Ellen Cleary and Evelyn Daly and are expertly led by SHS Tullamore teachers Kerry Ann O’Keefe and Kasia Koper.
Representing Sacred Heart School and supported by the Offaly County Council climate action team, the team will travel to Bulle, Switzerland for the event tomorrow (Friday), July 3.
Taking place as part of Swiss Hydrogen Week, the race is part of a weeklong festival of activities including the H2GP World Finals. The Offaly school will become the first Irish school to participate in the world’s largest hydrogen-powered competition, get to race against other Sprint teams from across the globe and gain huge experience at an international H2GP event, with teams attending from over 20 countries.
The H2GP Sprint is an international STEM education program where students design, build, and race 1:20 scale cars powered by zero-emission hydrogen fuel cells. It challenges young innovators to iteratively improve their vehicles' aerodynamics, weight distribution, and gear ratios to maximise speed. The event is built around a specialised, lightweight track and focuses on speed.
Teacher Kerry Ann O’Keefe was introduced to the H2GP initiative through training provided by Kinia, a non-profit education organisation that supports schools and youth groups with hands-on STEM learning and completed specialist training.
She subsequently delivered the programme in school over a five-week period and led the SHS team in the Kinia H2GP Sprint Car Programme at TUS (Technological University of the Shannon). The team achieved an outstanding result and finished just one tenth of a second behind the fastest time.
Ms O’Keefe said: “Due to our success, we received an invitation from Horizon Educational to compete in the first-ever H2GP World Sprint competition, with Kinia leading the programme in Ireland. The team also represented the school at the inaugural Kinia H2GP in April of this year and had great success.
"We are very proud of the team for all the work and dedication they are putting into this; they are a credit to themselves. These are future innovators in action and it’s great to see.
"This opportunity represents much more than a competition. It gives students practical experience in engineering, renewable energy, teamwork, and problem-solving, while encouraging them to consider future careers in STEM and sustainable technologies. This will inspire the next generation of innovators in the STEM and climate action field,” she continued, also thanking the Offaly County Council climate cction team for their support.
Paul McLoughlin, Director of Services with Offaly County Council, said: “We are incredibly proud of the students from Sacred Heart School, Tullamore, as they represent their school, Offaly and the Midlands region at the H2GP World Sprint Finals in Switzerland. This is a fantastic achievement and a testament to their dedication, teamwork and innovation.
"Their work with hydrogen technology is particularly significant as hydrogen will play a key role in our future energy systems, and it’s inspiring to see young women from our region already leading the way in such an important and emerging field. Their success reflects the growing focus on energy innovation here in Offaly, with initiatives like the Tullamore Decarbonisation Zone and the Rhode Green Energy Park positioning the county at the forefront of the transition to a low-carbon future.”
Speaking ahead of the event, Mariane Checkley, CEO Kinia added: “The Sacred Heart School team performed brilliantly at the Kinia H2GP PRO final and we are delighted to have supported the school on their journey. To see them as the first all female team representing Ireland at the World Sprint Final this week, is very exciting for us to see and we wish them all the best.”