WHySE Compass Starting Point

Monkey came out onto the veranda, completely exhausted.

Dog looked up from his map.

“Long day?”

Monkey dropped her laptop onto the table.

“They’ve been playing Buzzword Bingo again today.”

Dog put his fountain pen aside.

“Which word this time?”

Monkey flicked through her notes.

“FID. FEED. EPC. HAZOP. SOEC. AEM.”

Dog nodded.

“And?”

Monkey looked at him.

“At some point, I just started nodding along.”

A brief pause.

“But I really just wanted to understand what they were talking about.”

The moment when clarity begins

Dog was silent for a moment.

This was no small matter.

It was the question that many people carry around with them in meetings. In hydrogen projects. When applying for funding. In technical concepts. In regulatory discussions.

Everyone is taking notes.

Everyone looks focused.

Everyone acts as if it’s clear what’s meant.

And sometimes all that’s missing is a calm sentence.

One that says:

“Hold on. Let’s sort this out quickly.”

Dog stood up.

He went into the house.

Monkey watched him go.

“Dog?”

“Yes?”

“Are you getting some coffee?”

“That too.”

A short while later, Dog came back.

A cup in one hand. A compass in the other. A folded map tucked under his arm.

Monkey raised an eyebrow.

“Dog?”

“Yes?”

“What’s that?”

Dog laid the map on the table.

It read: H₂-Terrain

Monkey leaned forward.

On the map were facilities, pipes, terms, arrows and small cards. Some were face up. Others were still face down.

Dog placed the compass next to it.

“That,” he said, “is the WHySE Compass.”

Monkey looked first at the map. Then at Dog.

“What’s it for?”

Dog smiled.

“So that no creature ever gets lost in the H₂ terrain again.”

Not a dictionary. Not a white paper. A conversation.

Monkey looked at the face-down cards.

“So is the compass a dictionary?”

Dog shook his head.

“No.”

“A white paper?”

“No, not that either.”

“A consultant’s slide?”

Dog looked at her.

Monkey grinned.

“Never mind.”

Dog turned the compass slightly on the table.

“The WHySE Compass is a conversation. Each marker explains exactly one term. One question. One explanation. One step.”

Monkey tapped her notes.

“So, FID at some point?”

“Yes.”

“FEED?”

“That too.”

“EPC?”

“Yes.”

“And HAZOP?”

Dog grinned.

“HAZOP, in fact.”

Monkey pulled a face.

Dog laughed heartily. “We’ll be starting on that soon.”

Monkey leaned back.

“And the face-down cards?”

“They’re still waiting.”

“For what?”

“For your question.”

Monkey nodded slowly.

“I like that.”

Why WHySE exists

That’s exactly why WHySE exists – as well.

Not because hydrogen needs yet another abbreviation.

Not because the world has been waiting for the next presentation.

But because many people are navigating the H₂ terrain and realise:

I need some guidance.

Sometimes they’re young female engineers and project managers who are technically strong but still want to make sense of individual terms.

Sometimes they’re female managing directors and decision-makers who want to know whether a topic is relevant to their company.

Sometimes they’re local authority organisations, research institutions, quality managers or regulatory experts who, when it comes to HAZOP, RFNBO, RED III or BImSchV, want to understand what’s really behind them.

That’s what the Compass is for.

It doesn’t sell hydrogen technology.

No studies.

No engineering.

It provides guidance.

Landmark by landmark.

What happens when a card is turned over?

Monkey looked at the map again.

“And if I open a landmark?”

“Then you’ll find the explanation there.”

“With sources?”

“Yes.”

“With a PDF?”

Dog nodded.

“For the technical landmarks. To take away.”

“For the next meeting?”

“Exactly.”

Monkey placed her notes next to the Compass.

“Then I’ll get started.”

Dog unfolded the map completely.

“Not all at once.”

Monkey nodded.

“Just the next landmark.”

Dog smiled.

“Exactly.”

And so begins the WHySE Compass.

Not with a definition.

But with a creature that says honestly:

“I nodded along. But I just wanted to understand.”

That’s enough for a start.

Because orientation begins right there.