Member Under the Microscope
Lorie Jones FIEAust CPEng EngExec NER APEC Engineer
Director and Vice President of the Hydrogen Society of Australia
Meet Lorie Jones, Vice President of the Hydrogen Society of Australia, and a passionate advocate for clean energy and hydrogen’s role in facilitating our energy transition.
The foundations of her career began at the University of Waterloo in Canada, where she wasn't just studying Systems Engineering – she was diving into the future, working on a project simulating the flow of cryogenic liquid hydrogen in pipelines. Her project supervisor had just secured government funding to establish a hydrogen research facility in Toronto and invited her to join the new research institute as a Graduate Systems Engineer. There was a young PhD student from Perth Australia, who was building and testing alkaline fuel cells in the research lab next to her. They eventually got married and the rest is history! The stock market crash in 1982 severely affected the North American economy, the price of oil and gas plummeted, and many people lost their jobs across the industry. The hydrogen research facility continued for three years until the funding ran out in 1985. The Canadian government was no longer interested in funding renewable energy and hydrogen, and they laid everyone off.
After emigrating to Perth Australia in 1987, Lorie spent more than 35 years in large engineering companies across a range of disciplines, including environmental approvals, strategic industrial planning, project management and portfolio management. She joined Engineers Australia soon after emigrating and has contributed over many years as a volunteer office bearer on many leadership roles at both division level and national level, including as President of Engineers Australia WA Division (2008). Most recently, she was invited to take on a leadership role in the Hydrogen Society of Australia and has since become a champion for promoting the role of hydrogen in underpinning the future energy ecosystem. Lorie facilitates educational initiatives, training professionals and building a skilled workforce for this exciting new frontier.
She is a strong believer in community outreach, working to demystify hydrogen's role in a sustainable energy future. Collaboration is also key for Lorie, who connects members with industry leaders, government agencies, and research organisations to facilitate knowledge sharing on the latest advancements in hydrogen technology. She also coordinates a monthly newsletter for HSA members and the broader community via social media, sharing the latest hydrogen buzz, and helps plan ‘Hydrogen 101’ workshops. One of her favourite projects is helping to deliver the National Hydrogen Technical Masterclass series, in collaboration with Engineers Australia and the Australian Institute of Energy. This series is a deep dive for professionals and Lorie played a key role in supporting the organising team in delivering the Perth Masterclass in February 2024 that took place over an intensive three days.
But her life isn't all about work and hydrogen. When she is not championing this clean fuel, you might find her playing the recorder with her daughter in an Early Music Society or cycling long distances – she's tackled routes in Europe and Australia. Lorie also enjoys the tranquillity of rural life, tending to crops and animals at her weekend getaway property. Family is another source of pride – both her children are engineers, her son with a Mechatronics degree and a master's in cyber security and her daughter with a double degree in Chemistry and Chemical Engineering with a PhD. To unwind, there's always her flourishing garden.