Update on International Fuel Cell Standards
Karen Hall, Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Energy Association

This article provides an update on the recent activities of IEC/TC 105 - the International Electrotechnical Committee responsible for International Standards on fuel cell technologies. The article highlights the documents that are presently out for comment or vote. Interested parties are encouraged to contact Karen Hall at khall@fchea.org if you require any additional information about these activities or would like to provide comment on the open documents. 

Additional details about any of these documents, as well as many other codes, standards and regulations for hydrogen and fuel cell technologies may be found at www.fuelcellstandards.com. 

The 11th meeting of IEC TC 105 was held in Cairo, Egypt, on 21st and 22nd November 2011. 

Project 62282-3-100 Ed. 1: Stationary fuel cell power systems - Safety: The Final Draft International Standard (FDIS) was circulated in December 2011. 

This part of IEC 62282 provides minimum safety requirements for the installation of indoor and outdoor stationary fuel cell power systems in compliance with IEC 62282-3-100 and applies to the installation of the following systems:
- intended for electrical connection to mains directly or with a readily accessible, manually operable switch or circuit-breaker;
- intended for a stand-alone power distribution system;
- intended to provide AC or DC power;
- with or without the ability to recover useful heat.

I have just been informed this ballot passed. 

Project 62282-3-300 Ed.1: Stationary Fuel Cells - Installation

This part of IEC 62282 provides performance based requirements for the minimum safe installation of indoor and outdoor fuel cell power plants. The document was published in November 2007 and is undergoing a revision. Comments on the FDIS are due to the US TAG on January 26th. 

Project 62282-2 Ed.2: Fuel cell technologies - Part 2: Fuel cell modules: The FDIS was circulated in December 2011. 

This part of IEC 62282 provides the minimum requirements for safety and performance of fuel cell modules and applies to fuel cell modules with the following electrolyte chemistry: 
- alkaline; 
- polymer electrolyte (including direct methanol fuel cells); 
- phosphoric acid;
- molten carbonate;
- solid oxide;
- aqueous solution of salts.

International voting terminates on 17th February 2012. Comments are due from US TAG members by February 2nd. 

Project IEC /CDV 62282-6-100 am 1; Amendment 1 to Micro Fuel Cells - Safety

This is a safety standard for micro fuel cell power systems. (Fuel cell power systems and fuel containers that are wearable or easily carried by hand, providing DC outputs that do not exceed 60 V DC and power output of 240 VA. These DC units power or recharge consumer electric devices.)

A Committee Draft for Vote (CDV) for amendment 1 to IEC 62282-6-100 was posted for national committee vote with a closing date of March 2, 2012. Comments are due from US TAG members by February 17th. 

IEC/TC 105 confirmed the next Plenary meeting will be held on 8th and 9th November 2012 in Kyoto (Japan).

As a reminder, the Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Safety Report maintains a calendar of events which includes scheduled meetings of IEC/TC 105 and its working groups.www.hydrogenandfuelcellsafety.info/meetings.asp

Working Groups 8, 11, and 12 are all scheduled to meet in late February. 

Update on International Hydrogen Standards
Karen Hall, Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Energy Association

The development of International Standards for hydrogen energy technologies is moving quickly. This article provides an update on the activities of ISO/TC 197 - highlighting the documents that are presently out for comment or vote. Interested parties are encouraged to contact Karen Hall at khall@fchea.org if you require any additional information about these activities or would like to provide comment on the open documents.

Additional details about any of these documents, as well as many other codes, standards and regulations for hydrogen and fuel cell technologies may be found at www.fuelcellstandards.com.

The 20th meeting of ISO/TC 197 was held in Beijing, China on 15th December 2011.

  • Working Group 5 is developing a revision of ISO 17268 -Compressed hydrogen surface vehicle refuelling connection devices. The Working Group met on November 22 in Montreal to address technical comments. The Final Draft International Standard (FDIS) is expected to be available to review any day. The International Standard (IS) is expected to be published in June 2012. The bulk of the recent work has been related to the addition of requirements for 70 MPa nozzles and receptacles. This International Standard can be used for certification purposes.
     
  • ISO 14687-2 Hydrogen Fuel - Product Specification - Part 2: Proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell applications for road vehicles will be available for review of the Final Draft International Standard any day. It is expected this document will be published as an International Standard in June 2012. The Working group anticipates beginning work immediately on a revision that is intended to be applicable for wide-scale commercial rollout. Input from automotive manufacturers, hydrogen suppliers and fuelling station operators will be useful for setting these requirements. 

    This International Standard specifies the quality characteristics of hydrogen fuel in order to assure uniformity of the hydrogen product as dispensed for utilization in PEM fuel cell road vehicle systems.
     
  • ISO 14687-3 Hydrogen Fuel - Product Specification - Part 3: Proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell applications for stationary appliances has moved to the Draft International Standard (DIS) phase.
     
  • This International Standard specifies the quality characteristics of hydrogen fuel in order to assure uniformity of the hydrogen product for utilization in stationary proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell power systems. 

    The DIS is expected to be available for review any day. The FDIS is anticipated for June 2013. The International Standard is planned for December 2013. 

  • Second edition: ISO/TR 15916 Basic considerations for the safety of hydrogen systems

    This was the only Working Group to meet in conjunction with the Plenary meeting in China. This is an update of the ISO Technical Report on basic hydrogen safety information. 

    This Technical Report provides guidelines for the use of hydrogen in its gaseous and liquid forms. It identifies the basic safety concerns and risks, and describes the properties of hydrogen that are relevant to safety. 

    The Draft Technical Report (DTR) is available for review and comment. Publication of the Amended Technical Report is expected in November 2012.
     
  • Two recent ballots for Draft International Standards failed. Technical consensus is lacking on these efforts. The Working Groups are reviewing comments received and we expect working group meetings to be scheduled:
     
    • 1. ISO 15869 Gaseous hydrogen and hydrogen blends -Land vehicle fuel tanks

      This Standard applies to the following types of fuel tank designs:

      Type 1 - all - metal fuel tank;

      Type 2 - hoop wrapped fuel tank with a load sharing metal liner and composite reinforcement on the cylindrical part only; 

      Type 3 - fully wrapped fuel tank with a load sharing metal liner and composite reinforcement on both the cylindrical part and dome ends; 

      Type 4 - fully wrapped fuel tank with a non-load sharing liner and composite reinforcement in both the cylindrical part and dome ends. 
       
    • 2. ISO 20100 Gaseous hydrogen - Fuelling stations

      Specifies the design characteristics of standalone outdoor public and non-public fuelling stations that dispense gaseous hydrogen used as fuel onboard land vehicles of all types. 

      Residential and home applications to fuel land vehicles are excluded from this International Standard. 

      This work item was published as a Technical Specification in December 2008. Since then, the WG has continued its work towards the publication of the International Standard. 

      The DIS was released on 21 March 2011 for a five-month ballot ending on 21 August 2011. Following some confusion regarding the UK vote, it was not approved and the comments were returned to ISO/TC 197 WG 11 for consideration in preparation for a second DIS that will be circulated for a two-month voting period. FDIS is anticipated in September 2012. The International Standard is scheduled for March 2013.

      After the publication, the Working Group plans to look at incorporating indoor warehouse, retrofit and multi-fuel refueling on a fast-track basis. 

Do we need an International Standard on PSAs?
Karen Hall, Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Energy Association

A New Work Item Proposal (NWIP) for Pressure Swing Adsorption System for Hydrogen Separation & Purification has been proposed for ISO/TC 197 consideration. The member body proposing this work is China.

In the NWIP, the proposer recognizes a need to promote the implementation of pressure swing absorption (PSA) as an important purification technical tool for hydrogen purification and recovery, and to promote the harmonization of national specifications and requirements of PSA system for hydrogen production.

China set a national standard for PSA systems for hydrogen purification in 2005. Many other countries and regions also have national standards. In addition there are numerous best practices employed by PSA technology providers. There is currently, however, no single set of requirements applied all over the world. In fact, there can be significant differences among the existing standards and best practices.

This NWIP to develop an International Standard for PSA systems for hydrogen purification aims to solve the problem and facilitate promotion and implementation of PSA systems for hydrogen purification. 

In order to inform the FCHEA vote on this New Work Item Proposal, FCHEA members are encouraged to contact Karen Hall atkhall@fchea.org to express your views. Would an International Standard for Pressure Swing Adsorption System for Hydrogen Separation & Purification be useful to PSA technology providers and users? Please let us know your thoughts by February 15th in order to allow FCHEA to take a position. If you would like additional information about this NWIP, please let know and I'll be happy to provide further details.

In the event this NWIP is approved by ISO, PSA technology providers, users, and other interested parties will be sought for a new working group to develop the International Standard.

Hydrogen Sensors Activities
William J. Buttner, Ph.D, NREL

In June of 2011, NREL and DOE hosted a one-day workshop on hydrogen sensors to identify and review sensor applications and required metrics and performance specifications for each application.

The goals of the workshop were to identify critical applications for the emerging hydrogen infrastructure that require or would benefit from hydrogen sensors, to assign performance specifications for sensors deployed in each application, and to identify shortcomings or deficiencies (i.e., technical gaps) in the ability of current sensor technology to meet the assigned performance requirements.

The workshop participants represented a cross section of stakeholders in the hydrogen community, including sensor developers, end users, site safety officials, and code and standards developers. This draft report is being distributed to all workshop participants and others who have been identified as having a vested interest in hydrogen sensor technology.

A report that presents the summary and findings from the Workshop is now in the process of being published as an official NREL report.

The workshop provided an excellent venue to bring representative stakeholders together to review sensor requirements for existing and emerging markets and to identify (perceived and real) shortcomings of existing technologies. Following the Workshop, FCHEA held a several teleconference meetings pertaining to hydrogen sensors. To continue this critical interaction initiated by the Workshop, the NREL Sensor Laboratory (http://www.nrel.gov/hydrogen/facilities_hsl.html) will be hosting a quarterly teleconference via WEBINAR format to cover critical issues pertaining to hydrogen sensors. The WEBINARS are tentatively scheduled to be held quarterly on 1st the Thursday of the month (February 2, May 3, August 2, and November 1 at 9:00 Mountain Time [11:00 Eastern, 8:00 AM Pacific]; The WEBINAR is pertinent to all stakeholders, including sensor developers, end-users, site safety personnel, and code developers.

For more information or to indicate interest in the Hydrogen Sensor Webinars and to be on the distribution list for activity, contact William Buttner (William.buttner@nrel.gov). 

Expressions of Interest in SOFC Gasket Report Sought
Tony Blaine, Gasket Task Group Facilitator

In 2011, the Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Energy Association (FCHEA) published a report addressing gasket issues for PEM fuel cells. This report is available online at:http://www.fchea.org/core/import/PDFs/FCHEA_Gasket_Report_2011.pdf.

Following completion of this activity, the FCHEA Gasket Task Force - a task group within the Materials and Components Working Group - is exploring interest in developing a similar report for Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) gaskets. If sufficient member interest is found, the Gasket Task Force will be reconstituted, ideally containing 5-6 FCHEA members involved in SOFC manufacturing or materials. Members of the Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Working Group are especially encouraged to participate. Test laboratories and materials research organizations will also be invited to contribute, as appropriate test procedures will need to be identified.

Task Group meetings would be conducted on-line. The frequency of meetings is envisaged to be flexible to achieve the work, with an initial schedule of every 6 weeks.

The report is anticipated to address issues such as the following:

Validate that the function of SOFC Gasket is to
1. Prevent mixing of fuel and oxidant with the cell stack
2. Prevent leaking of fuel and oxidant from the stack
3. Electrically isolate cells in the stack
4. Provide mechanical bonding of cell components
Determine if there are other functions required of the gasket.

Validate and identify industry standard operating parameters
* Operating Temperatures 1000C
* Life Stationary and Mobile
* Stability over what range of operating parameters - Oxygen-Fuel-Air
* Thermal Stress - Compressive Stress - Mechanical Stress

Identify and publish baseline industry testing standards for SOFC
* Fuel Cell Types
* Gasket Types - Materials

Gasket Types under consideration
* Rigid, i.e., Glass and Ceramic
* Compressive, i.e., Composites - Graphites - Alumina Fibers

Publish Testing Results similar to those in the PEM Report. 

The task group will seek to work with gasket manufacturers and ask them to participate in task force meetings to facilitate
* Obtaining data such as Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS), Technical Data Sheets (TDS), etc.
* Partnering on performance testing
* Gaining better understanding of materials and functional issues

The next meeting of the Gasket Task Force is tentatively scheduled for Thursday, February 23rd at 3pm. Expressions of interest in participating in this effort are therefore requested no later than February 15th to ensure there is sufficient member interest to move ahead with this activity. Interested parties who are not members of FCHEA are also invited to express interest. Please e-mail Karen Hall at khall@fchea.org if you are interested in participating in the development of this report.