Los STEMateros and Las STEMateras earned their place on the world stage after winning California qualifying events, showcasing engineering talent from East Los Angeles in an international clean-energy competition.
A group of students representing East Los Angeles, Boyle Heights, Region East, the Los Angeles Unified School District, and the United States is competing this week at the 2026 Horizon Hydrogen Grand Prix (H2GP) World Championship in Bulle, Switzerland, the world’s largest hydrogen-powered student racing competition.
Los STEMateros and Las STEMateras, engineering teams qualified to compete against student teams from around the world after advancing through California’s regional and state H2GP competitions.
The world championship began on June 29 and runs through July 3. During the event, teams compete in endurance races using remote-controlled vehicles powered by hydrogen fuel cells. Success depends on vehicle efficiency, engineering, race strategy, pit stop management, and reliability over several hours of competition.
The name Los STEMateros was chosen as a tribute to the eloteros and paleteros who are part of everyday life in Boyle Heights and East Los Angeles.
The students spent the school year designing, building, testing, and improving their hydrogen-powered race cars as part of the Horizon Hydrogen Grand Prix program, which introduces students to engineering, renewable energy, and clean transportation technologies.
Their trip to Switzerland was supported mainly by SoCalGas and the Alliance for Renewable Clean Hydrogen Energy Systems (ARCHES), which helped fund international travel for the student teams. Each delegation includes five to six students accompanied by their teacher and mentor.
