Did You Know? US DOE Hydrogen Program Plan Released

By Karen Quackenbush, FCHEA

On November 12, 2020, the U.S. Department of Energy Released its Hydrogen Program Plan to provide a strategic framework for the Department’s hydrogen research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) activities. The Plan can be accessed here.

Call for Experts ISO TC 197

By Karen Quackenbush, FCHEA

A call for experts has been issued for three newly established working groups under ISO/TC 197 as follows:

  • WG 15, Cylinders and tubes for stationary storage; which will be responsible for the development of ISO/WD 19884 - Gaseous hydrogen — Cylinders and tubes for stationary storage;

  • WG 30, Gaseous hydrogen land vehicle fuel system components, which will be responsible for the development of ISO 19887, Gaseous hydrogen — Fuel system components for hydrogen fuelled vehicles;

  • WG 31, O-rings, which will be responsible for the development of ISO 19880-7, Gaseous hydrogen — Fuelling stations — Part 7: O-rings; and

  • WG 32, Hydrogen generators using water electrolysis, which will be responsible for the development of ISO/TR 5957, Hydrogen generators using water electrolysis – Testing guidance for performing electricity grid service.

If you would like to participate on any or all of these WGs, or if you have any questions regarding these three WGs or their ISO projects, please contact your national Technical Advisory Group. In the United States, this is Jill Thompson at CGA.

Group A I-Codes Open for Proposals

By Karen Quackenbush, FCHEA

The International Codes Council (ICC) revises their model international codes (i-Codes) in two groups. The 2021 Group A Codes, which includes the International Fire Code (IFC), International Building Code (IBC), and International Fuel Gas Code (IFGC) to name a few, is open for public comment until January 11, 2021. For reference, the 2021/2022 ICC Code development schedule is attached.

Anyone can submit a new proposal online at https://www.cdpaccess.com/proposal/new/.

FCHEA is polling our members to determine if there is industry interest in making any code change proposals to any open i-Codes. In particular, we would like to hear from you if you have experienced any difficulties having hydrogen energy equipment or fuel cells cited due to i-Code interpretation issues. We are also interested in any proposals to harmonize the i-Codes with other requirements, such as NFPA 2.

If we receive any responses to this poll, FCHEA’s Hydrogen Codes Task Force will meet in December to determine how best to address the concerns in the current proposal period. Please send any comments or concerns to kquackenbush@fchea.org no later than Monday, November 30th.

Chris LaFleur, Sandia National Laboratories, Wins DOE Award in Safety, Codes and Standards

By Karen Quackenbush, FCHEA

Each year, the Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office (HFTO) presents awards for outstanding contributions to the overall efforts of the DOE Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Program and for achievements in specific technical areas. The 2020 Annual Merit Review Awards have been announced, and are available here.

This years’ winner of the DOE Award in Safety, Codes and Standards is Chris LaFleur, of Sandia National Laboratories. The text of her award is provided here:

This award recognizes Dr. Chris LaFleur of Sandia National Laboratories for outstanding commitment and contributions to the safe deployment of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies through R&D and international cooperation in risk assessment. In her role at Sandia, Chris has worked to develop risk-informed analyses supporting development of fire codes and standards, represented the United States in hydrogen codes and standards development activities, and serves as a chair of NFPA 2, Hydrogen Technologies Code. Her collaborations with state and regional authorities, as well as industry, provide a risk-informed basis for the safe and widespread use of hydrogen technologies at scale.

Please join us in congratulating Chris!

U.S. and Netherlands to Collaborate on Hydrogen R&D, Codes and Standards

By Jennifer Gangi, FCHEA

In October, the United States and the Netherlands, via the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) and the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy’s Directorate General for Climate and Energy, issued a statement of intent (SOI) to collaborate on hydrogen research and development (R&D).

The SOI focuses on collaboration between the two countries to share real-world data on hydrogen production and infrastructure technologies, including electrolyzer durability and performance.  On the U.S. side, that incudes DOE’s Office of Technology Transitions (OTT) and National Laboratory network to provide technical expertise and state-of-the-art testing and analytical equipment.

An additional focus area will cover lessons learned and harmonization of safety, codes and standards for hydrogen and natural gas blending.

The SOI activities will be coordinated through already established partnerships such as the International Partnership for Hydrogen and Fuel Cells in the Economy (IPHE), the International Energy Agency, Mission Innovation, the Clean Energy Ministerial, and the Hydrogen Energy Ministerial. 

European Commission Releases 2019 Programme Review Report of FCH 2 JU Projects

By Connor Dolan, FCHEA

In November 2020, the European Commission’s Joint Research Center (JRC) released its 2019 Programme Review Report of all activities supported by the Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH 2 JU).  The report covers all 81 projects that were ongoing between April and October 2019 and asses the strengths and accomplishments of each activity.  Several of the projects funded by FCH 2 JU during this timeframe covered activities related to hydrogen safety. 

One of the primary panels of the FCH 2 JU program is to provide Support for Market Uptake activities across all program efforts to support market readiness and preparation.  A key activity of this panel is generating experimental data and validating modelling approaches to address safety of FCH technologies and applications.  This safety piece covers all aspects from studies on fundamental hydrogen behavior up to safe deployment of FCH technologies in all the envisaged applications.  There are several projects in safety focus area under the Market Uptake pillar, including Improving Hydogen Safety for Energy Applications (HySEA), Pre-normative Research for Safe use of Liquide Hydrogen (PRESLHY), and many others. For more information see the chart below:

eu safety.png

The European Hydrogen Safety Panel (EHSP), formed in 2017, also has the goal of coordinating safety strategy at program level. In the 2018-2019 period, the EHSP delivered a first draft multiannual safety roadmap and a handbook on safety planning for projects.

The report also highlights several specific activities that have elements that advance hydrogen safety, such as the Tank Hydrogen Automotive (TAHYA) project.  TAHYA seeks to provide a safe, complete and high-performance hydrogen storage system (liner, cylinder, on-tank valve) achieving cost competitiveness in mass production. TAHYA is also involved in regulation, codes and standards (RCS) activities, with the aim of updating Global Technical Regulation No. 13 on fuel cell vehicles and the European General Safety Regulation (which also covers hydrogen vehicle safety).

Overall, hydrogen safety, codes, and standards have a strong emphasis in the FCH 2 JU Programme Report.

More information on the report, as well as a full download, is available here.

DNV GL Hydrogen Safety Webinar

By Jennifer Gangi, FCHEA

On September 22, DNL GL hosted a webinar, “Proving the Safety Case for Hydrogen: Panel Discussion with National Grid and Northern Gas Networks.”  The discussion was moderated by Jørg Aarnes, Global Lead – Low Carbon, at DNV GL, and participants included:

  • Antony Green, Project Director for Hydrogen, National Grid

  • Tom Neal, Innovation Delivery Manager, National Grid

  • Tim Harwood, Head of Program Management/H21 Project Director, Northern Gas Networks

  • Andy Cummins, Oil & Gas Principal Consultant, DNV GL

  • Dan Allison, Oil & Gas, Head of Section – Research and Innovation

The focus of the discussion was primarily on the safety of transitioning gas networks in the United Kingdom (UK) to hydrogen for home and building heating.  Currently, this includes using existing methodology and models for natural gas, and common practices from oil and gas industry, which already has some experience with hydrogen (but not at a large-scale) and filling in the knowledge gaps with data and testing from ongoing demonstration projects.

DNV GL runs the large-scale Spadeadam Research and Testing facility in Cumbria, England.  That is where Northern Gas Networks and partners are conducting safety tests as part of H21 program.  H21 consists of different projects aimed at demonstrating the safety of the existing gas grid and infrastructure in the UK to be repurposed to transport 100% hydrogen.  H21 is establishing the critical safety evidence to inform policy and prove that a hydrogen gas network is equally as safe as the natural gas grid heating UK homes today.

Two H21 projects being conducted at Spadeadam to prove that hydrogen is safe is HyStreet and Hy4Heat, which is focused on hydrogen to power gas appliances in the home.   Tests include three homes and simulation tests to look at potential hydrogen leaks both inside and outside.

The panelists touched briefly on these projects and spend the bulk of discussion reinforcing the need to demonstrate the safety case in order to expand the use of hydrogen in the UK for not only heating, but also for transportation and other applications.  Throughout the webinar, several polls were taken of attendees, including “What is the factor that is most critical for the industry to address to scale the hydrogen economy?”  Safety scored 21% while cost (full value chain) garnered 49%.  Public perception received 11% of the vote, and panelists opined that other international surveys and social research have determined that the majority of customers have a high degree of trust in the safety of gas networks, based on the notion that experts have done due diligence, no matter what fuel is used.   The main issues that were cited as problems were power disruptions or cost more than safety.

There was also a Q&A as part of the live webinar in September that is not available on the recording.  Separately, there was a November 13 article in H2 View stating that as part of the HyStreet project, that hydrogen burning boilers have been successfully operating in the homes.

Government of India Notifies Standards for Safety Evaluation of Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles

By Connor Dolan, FCHEA

On September 23, the Indian Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) issued a notification on rules for compressed gaseous hydrogen fuel cell motor vehicles. 

These rules would harmonize the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) with corresponding rules from the International Organization of Standardization (ISO).

The purpose of the rules are to facilitate the promotion of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in the country.

The notification from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is available here.  An article on this subject is available from the Economic Times of India here.

2021 International Conference on Hydrogen Safety Announced

By Karen Quackenbush, FCHEA

The ninth International Conference on Hydrogen Safety (ICHS 2021) will be held in Edinburgh, Scotland on 21-23 September 2021 under the auspices of the International Association for Hydrogen Safety (IA HySafe).  ICHS2021 which will be about “Safe Hydrogen for Net Zero”.

ICHS2021 looks to cover all topics relating to hydrogen and safety, and are interested to receive papers regarding experimental studies, theoretical mathematical modelling, safety management, incidents, accidents and near misses. Please note abstracts are due on December 31, 2020.

Further information, including how to submit an abstract, can be found at https://hysafe.info/ichs2021/.

U.S. Department of Energy Resources on Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles

Fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) will play an integral role in our transportation future due to their fast-fueling capability, similar driving range to conventional vehicles, and zero-emissions. Government and industry are working toward clean, economical, and safe hydrogen production and distribution for widespread use in FCEVs. The H2@Scale concept at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) explores the potential for wide-scale hydrogen production and use across energy sectors.

To help fleets meet their transportation energy and economic goals, the DOE Vehicle Technologies Office’s (VTO) Technology Integration Program provides objective data, real-world lessons learned, online tools, and technical assistance.

The Alternative Fuels Data Center (AFDC) is a DOE VTO website for fleets, fuel providers, policymakers, Clean Cities coalitions, and others working to improve efficiency, cut costs, and reduce emissions in transportation. The AFDC enables decision makers to access a large suite of online tools and a vast collection of vetted data.

The AFDC Tools page hosts a collection of calculators, interactive maps, and data searches to assist fleets. Here are some of the top tools on the AFDC:

Vehicle Search: In light-, medium-, and heavy-duty vehicle applications, fleets are putting FCEVs into service. Find and compare the latest FCEVs across all vehicle classes using the AFDC Alternative Fuel and Advanced Vehicle Search.

Case Studies: For real-world examples of FCEVs in use, turn to the Case Studies database. Search by category or keyword, or simply view the most recent videos and stories showing how others have successfully implemented FCEVs.

Alternative Fueling Station Locator: For over 20 years, the Station Locator has helped fleets and individuals locate alternative fueling stations and assisted transportation decision makers in tracking industry development. The advanced filters include options to display private and planned stations, and other search criteria. Submitting new station information helps show industry growth, and ultimately encourage future investment in hydrogen.

Laws and Incentives: To identify funding opportunities for FCEVs and associated fueling infrastructure, use the Federal and State Laws and Incentives database. Through an advanced search function, fleets can customize queries by state or user type, or simply through a keyword search.

For a deeper dive on these tools or other AFDC resources, contact the Technical Response Service (TRS) by email (TechnicalResponse@icf.com) or phone (800-254-6735). TRS representatives are subject matter experts who are here to help you. Look for the TRS icon throughout the AFDC for your one-click access to technical assistance.