The concluding session at the SHFCA2020 annual conference on 15 October included the inaugural presentation of the Stewart Dow Memorial Award. This Award is made to an individual or group who has either developed practical solutions or an innovative product, has been successful in commercialising fuel cells in new applications, or has brought people together in a collaborative way.
Fiona Landy of the Hydrogen Accelerator was chosen as the first recipient of the Stewart Dow Memorial Award, recognising her work over many years supporting the deployment of hydrogen vehicles in the Scottish Cities fleets.
Inaugural Stewart Dow Award presented to Fiona Landy at SHFCA2020
Fiona Landy is the Delivery Manager at the Hydrogen Accelerator, and was previously the Hydrogen Project Manager at Scottish Cities Alliance. Fiona first became involved with hydrogen project activities when she joined the Aberdeen Hydrogen Team to take forward the four strands of the Scottish Cities Alliance Hydrogen Economy Strategy which was commissioned by the Scottish Cities Alliance Hydrogen Action Group in 2013.
Fiona Landy was selected by the judges as the winner of the first Stewart Dow Memorial Award in recognition of her work over many years to promote and support the deployment of hydrogen mobility solutions in many of our Scottish cities. Fiona has been a champion for the hydrogen and fuel cell sector, bringing together key stakeholders from the public and private sectors. Fiona has supported the hydrogen bus project in Aberdeen, and more recently the fleet of hydrogen gritter trucks in Glasgow. Her determination in making these projects happen made her the clear choice as the first recipient of the Stewart Dow Award.
The team at Bramble Energy and Jacqui Staunton of Climate Change Solutions were also recognised as worthy runners-up. Their nominations stood out to the judges, highlighting their tireless work to support and progress the sector in various ways. Many thanks to Bramble Energy and to Jacqui Staunton, organiser of the International Hydrogen & Fuel Cell Conference in Birmingham, for their valuable contributions to our sector.
Stewart’s colleagues and friends in the hydrogen industry, together with his family established this annual award in his memory to recognise and encourage similar passion and enthusiasm for the development and deployment of hydrogen and fuel cells. Stewart Dow was a champion for innovation across the hydrogen and fuel cell sector, but tragically contracted COVID-19 and passed away in April 2020. Stewart spent many years working at BOC, and his support for early start-ups helped many to become well-known and successful organisations whilst driving the commercialisation of hydrogen fuel cells across the UK.