Recent Learnings from Hydrogen Incidents
by Steven C. Weiner, Ph.D., Energy and Environment Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

A failure at the screw fitting on a high pressure hydrogen cylinder on the roof of a fueling station in a major metropolitan area is the subject of our latest posting to "H2incidents.org" and can be accessed athttp://www.h2incidents.org/incident.asp?inc=312. The emergency response actions taken are described. Subsequent measures taken for hydrogen supply and station operations are summarized. The "incident owners" note that "all plans and emergency procedures have been reviewed, adjusted and edited to document changes and fully capture the lessons learned.

A recent failure of a single-stage hydrogen regulator is the subject of another recent posting to "H2incidents.org". The near-miss event can be accessed at http://www.h2incidents.org/incident.asp?inc=310. The lessons learned discussion highlights the role of pressure relief devices, their discharges and the importance of adequate area ventilation in considering the use of compressed hydrogen gas regulators. Diagrams and photos are included in the record. The November 2010 issue of H2 Safety SNAPSHOT, Handling Compressed Hydrogen Gas Cylinders, outlines good practices for the safe handling of gas cylinders and is included as a reference. Other archival issues can also be found at http://h2bestpractices.org/safetysnapshot.asp.

Editor's Note: Although the most recent postings to "H2incidents.org" regarding a failure of a screw fitting on a high pressure hydrogen cylinder and failure of a high pressure hydrogen regulator may be of less specific interest to some of our readers, these serve as good reminders of what we can learn from incidents and near-misses and their relationship to hydrogen safety best practices. Some of our readers may already be receiving email alerts on new postings to two important safety knowledge tools: (1) Hydrogen Incident Reporting and Lessons Learned (http://h2incidents.org/) and (2) Hydrogen Safety Best Practices (http://h2bestpractices.org/). If you wish to add your name to the alert list, please send an E-email to (h2incidents@pnnl.gov). You will receive a confirmation that your name has been added to the alert list for future postings to both tools.

Sandia Publishes Technical Reference for Hydrogen Compatibility of Materials
by Karen Hall, Senior Technical Specialist, FCHEA

On May 28, Sandia National Laboratories announced it had published the Technical Reference on Hydrogen Compatibility of Materials in the hydrogen section of the Open Energy Information (OpenEI) knowledge sharing online community for easier access. The Technical Reference provides data on compatibility between hydrogen and materials used for delivery and storage to the broader industry in an effort to eliminate R&D redundancies. The Reference consolidates reviews of reports, journal publications, and new research conducted by Sandia.

Sandia's press release can be found here:https://share.sandia.gov/news/resources/news_releases/hydrogen_report/. The Technical Reference on Hydrogen Compatibility of Materials can be found here: http://en.openei.org/datasets/node/927.

This full public report on Technical Reference for Hydrogen Compatibility of Materials (SAND2012-7321) includes datasets for fatigue crack growth of materials in gaseous hydrogen. This Technical Reference is a compilation of stand-alone documents organized by material class. The report is occasionally updated.

New proposals for International Standards
by Karen Hall, Senior Technical Specialist, FCHEA

The International member countries of ISO/TC 197 have been requested to vote on two New Work Item Proposals (NWIPs) relating to gaseous hydrogen fuel tanks.

The first is a new International Standard on land vehicle fuel tanks for gaseous hydrogen [N589]. The second NWIP is a proposal to develop a new International Standard on thermally activated pressure relief devices on land vehicle fuel tanks for gaseous hydrogen [N590].

If approved, joint working groups led by ISO/TC 197 with the participation of ISO/TC 22/SC 21, ISO/TC 22/SC 25 and TC 58/SC 3 would be created. Mr. Livio Gambone from Powertech Labs, Canada has been proposed as convenor (project leader) for these efforts.

FCHEA members who desire additional information or wish to voice comments on these New Work Item Proposals, or if you are interested in being nominated as an expert in the event the ballots pass and new working groups are formed, please E-mail me at khall@fchea.org no later than September 5th.

Monthly Coordinating Webinar Reminder
by Karen Hall, Senior Technical Specialist, FCHEA

Reminder - the next monthly National Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Codes and Standards Coordinating Committee webinar will be held on Wednesday, August 7th. Meeting notices will be sent to those who participate. If you are interested in joining in the discussion but are not currently on the roster, please send an E-mail to Connor Dolan atcdolan@fchea.org, and ask to join the NHFCCSCC roster. 

Hydrogen Sensor Task Group Meets at AMR
by William Buttner, NREL

The Hydrogen Sensor Task Group, facilitated by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), met on Wednesday May 15, 2013, in conjunction with the 2013 DOE Fuel Cell Technologies Program and Vehicle Technologies Program Annual Merit Review and Peer Evaluation in Crystal City, Virginia.

Topics discussed included:

  • ICHS2013 - International Conference on Hydrogen Safety "Progress in safety of hydrogen technologies and infrastructure: enabling the transition to zero carbon energy, September 9-11, 2013 - BRUSSELS - BELGIUM. (www.ICHS2013.com)
  • (Tentative) Hydrogen Sensor Workshop, EU Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking, Brussels, Belgium, September 12, 2013.
  • Update on the Hydrogen Sensors Standards subgroup (development of a White Paper on standards and codes for the hydrogen infrastructure)
  • Update on the CaFCP Hydrogen Station Implementation
  • Sensor Needs for the Hydrogen Infrastructure (Open discussion)
  • Impact of Codes
  • Stakeholders perspective
  • Minutes of the meeting will be posted when they become available. For more information about NREL's Hydrogen Sensor Task Group, contact William Buttner at William.buttner@nrel.govor Robert Burgess at Robert.burgess@nrel.gov.

Call for Developers on Micro Fuel Cell Power Systems
by Karen Hall, Senior Technical Specialist, FCHEA

The FCHEA Portable Power Working Group (PPWG) met on May 24th and noted that IEC/TC 105 Working Group 8, which is responsible for developing a new International Standard (IEC 62282-6-101: Micro Fuel Cell Power Systems Safety - General Requirements), is now ready for proposals from manufacturers to address technology-specific issues. 

IEC/TC 105 Working Group 8 met April 22-24 to address the comments received during circulation of the Committee Draft of the General Requirements document. There is expected to be a web-based meeting this summer to review the updated draft. At that point, it will be desirable to have at least one technology-specific supplement in development. 

A separate supplement (Part 2) is needed for each fuel cell technology. When combined with the General Requirements document (Part 1) which is common to all micro fuel cell systems, the Part 2 document for each micro fuel cell technology will provide the full set of requirements necessary for that technology. Part 2 documents will be companion standards to address technology-specific requirements which are necessarily missing from Part 1.

Once at least one Part 2 standard is in development, it will be possible to validate the Part 1 standard to ensure the document works as intended. If no Part 2 companion documents are proposed, Part 1 may be held up. Developers of micro fuel cell systems using any technology are encouraged to engage in the discussions to ensure your technology is not left behind. 

For more information, please contact Karen Hall at khall@fchea.org or Connor Dolan at cdolan@fchea.org. We will provide additional detail and help micro fuel cell system developers engage with the FCHEA PPWG and, when appropriate, the IEC/TC 105 WG 8.