SOFC - Overview of RCS and Call for Members to Join SOFC WG
by Karen Hall, Senior Technical Specialist, FCHEA

Materials Compatibility Document out for Review
by Karen Hall, Senior Technical Specialist, FCHEA

New Hydrogen Safety Checklist Available
by Steven C. Weiner, Ph.D., Energy and Environment Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Hydrogen Refueling Protocols Webinar Proceedings Available
(Extracted from the DOE webpage)

ISO TC 197 Plenary 2013 Report
by Karen Hall, Senior Technical Specialist, FCHEA

NREL Presents Codes and Standards Progress
by Karen Hall, Senior Technical Specialist, FCHEA

Hydrogen Sensor Task Group Update
by Karen Hall, Senior Technical Specialist, FCHEA

U.S. Weights and Measures Standards Development Process
by Juana Williams and Marc Buttler, NIST OWM

National Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Codes & Standards Coordinating Committee Teleconference - January 2013 Minutes (PDF)
Chad Blake, NREL

National Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Codes & Standards Coordinating Committee Teleconference - February 2013 Minutes (PDF)
Chad Blake, NREL

SOFC - Overview of RCS and Call for Members to Join SOFC WG
by Karen Hall, Senior Technical Specialist, FCHEA

Does your organization have an interest in Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) technologies? The Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Energy Association (FCHEA) manages a SOFC Working Group. In addition to recommending SOFC-related priorities, this working group is a forum to discuss key safety, codes and standards issues such as SOFC gasket materials and IEC 62282-7-2 -Single Cell / Stack Performance for SOFC. A Committee Draft of this document is available for review.

FCHEA members interested in joining the SOFC Working Group can send an E-mail to Connor Dolan at cdolan@fchea.org to request to be added to the roster. Non-FCHEA members are encouraged to consider FCHEA membership to be eligible for full working group benefits. For further information about the FCHEA SOFC Working Group or related activities, please contact me directly at khall@fchea.org.

Materials Compatibility Document out for Review
by Karen Hall, Senior Technical Specialist, FCHEA

Proposed revisions to the CSA Standard for Test Methods for Evaluating Material Compatibility in Compressed Hydrogen Applications, CSA CHMC 1-2012, have been distributed for review and comment. Members of the CSA Technical Advisory Group and the Technical Committee responsible for the work are reminded to review the proposed revisions and provide any comments to Steve Tucky at CSA Group no later than April 12, 2013.

New Hydrogen Safety Checklist Available
by Steven C. Weiner, Ph.D., Energy and Environment Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Through the Hydrogen Safety Panel's work on the deployment of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies and systems, a Panel-developed checklist has been posted to "H2BestPractices.org" (see http://h2bestpractices.org/safety_planning/). Safety checklists can take many forms and be used for several purposes. This checklist focuses on the considerations of all aspects of an outdoor hydrogen supply system that provides for an indoor use of hydrogen and utilizes a table of critical safety measures. As well, the general principles in the checklist apply to other types and sizes of hydrogen systems.

If you have an interest in receiving new postings to our hydrogen safety knowledge tools: (1) Hydrogen Incident Reporting and Lessons Learned and (2) Hydrogen Safety Best Practices and are not already on our distribution list, please contact me directly at sc.weiner@pnnl.gov.

Hydrogen Refueling Protocols Webinar Proceedings Available
(Extracted from the DOE webpage)

More than 200 hydrogen refueling stations are projected to be constructed across the United States, Japan, and Germany in the next few years. Automobile Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) have developed fueling protocols that incorporate critical information related to their vehicles such as fuel temperature and pressure, initial vehicle pressure, and initial state of charge of the vehicle. These protocols allow for a fast and safe fill at the station and comply with the storage system operating limits. However, a single, performance-based protocol is needed to standardize the market and allow for a safe fueling of all vehicles. In March of 2010, SAE International published the Technical Information Report (TIR) guideline, SAE TIR J2601, to standardize hydrogen refueling protocols. This webinar presented the current refueling methods including the TIR guideline, SAE TIR J2601. The TIR guideline was developed using OEM hydrogen storage systems and third-party laboratory testing. The guideline establishes a table-based approach which allows all OEMs to safely fuel vehicles within a few minutes. The fueling protocol has now gone through two years of field trials, being used in hydrogen fueling demonstration projects in the United States, Europe, and Asia.

ISO TC 197 Plenary Report
by Karen Hall, Senior Technical Specialist, FCHEA

New ISO/TC 197 Chair sets tone for Collaboration

On 28 February, 2013, Dr. Andrei Tchouvelev, the newly-appointed Chair of ISO/TC 197: Hydrogen Technologies set out a new approach in managing the work of the Technical Committee. In the first Plenary meeting of the Technical Committee (TC) since December 2011, Dr. Tchouvelev welcomed participating countries to a more open and transparent TC. In what he refers to as "Collective Ownership", a Technical Advisory Board (TAB) has been established, comprised of internationally-recognized experts in four key subject areas:

  • Technical Program Director of the Hydrogen Production, Storage and Handling Program - Hervé Barthélémy, PhD.
  • Technical Program Director of the Built Environment and Safety Program - Jay O. Keller, PhD.
  • Technical Program Director of the Stationary and Fuel Cell Applications Program - Kazuo Koseki, MSc
  • Technical Program Director of the Hydrogen Components and Vehicular Applications Program - Craig T. L. Webster, P.Eng.

The addition of the TAB is expected to improve:

  • Technical coordination and collaboration within the TC in general and between the working groups with similar technical scope in particular.
  • Technical quality of the committee's products.
  • Technical coordination and collaboration with liaisons.

The TAB acts as an advisory body to the Technical Committee. The result of their work will be in the form of recommendations to ISO/TC 197 to assist with critical decisions such as:

  • Review and approval of NWIP and the establishment of new working groups
  • Appointment of project leaders / conveners for new work items and in cases when a convener replacement is necessary
  • Modification of scope or cancellation of work items
  • Establishment and cancellation of liaisons
  • Involvement in technical activities of other international organization

ISO/TC 197 reviewed and approved the following working model structure documents:

  • New organization structure as outlined in N567
  • Terms of reference for TAB, Technical Programs and TPDs as outlined in N565
  • TAB and its composition as per N566

NWIP Rules Change A recent change in ISO voting rules for New Work Item Proposals (NWIPs) was reviewed. NWIP votes MUST give a reason for the YES or NO vote to count. If you vote to approve, it is optional to nominate an expert - this expert must be named to count toward the requirement. If you vote NO, you may still nominate an expert, but it won't count toward meeting the P-member expert requirement.

Working Groups progress review (WG14, 15, 16 and 17)

ISO/TC 197 confirmed the need for all the work items currently registered in its programme of work, and following the reports of the working group convenors, agreed with the following target dates:

WGWork ItemTitleTarget Date

14ISO 14687-3Hydrogen Fuel - Product Specification - Part 3 Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cell Applications for stationary appliancesJuly 2013 FDIS

Dec 2013 publication

15ISO 15399Gaseous hydrogen - Cylinders and tubes for stationary storageJuly 2013 meeting TBC

16ISO 15916Basic Considerations for the Safety of Hydrogen SystemsJuly 2013 DTR vote

Dec 2013 publication

17ISO 17971Pressure swing adsorption system for hydrogen separation and purificationJuly 2013 FDIS

Sept 2013 meeting TBC

New work item proposals and creation of working groups

Presentations were made by P-members on several new work items. There was much discussion on whether the hydrogen fuelling station work should be a Technical Report (TR) or an International Standard (IS). Component standards were proposed, which could then be referenced in the refuelling station document. It was agreed to listen to all the new work item proposals, then consider how to proceed.

ISO/TC 197 confirmed the need for new work items. Based on discussion at this meeting, draft new work item proposals will be revised and resubmitted by March 31st for TC member country consideration. A small group was appointed to make recommendations on the proposal made by Jesse Schneider on hydrogen refuelling stations. (Jay Keller (TAB lead), Jesse Schneider (US), Roy Irani (UK), Guy Dang-Nhu (FR), TBD (DE) to work together on revised NWIP for hydrogen refuelling stations.) 

This work is of particular interest in European countries, particularly where national hydrogen deployment programs are present.

New Liaisons

ISO/TC 197 accepted the application for new liaisons as follows:

Category A liaisons:

  • International Association for Hydrogen Safety (HySAFE) (N568)
  • European Industrial Gas Association (EIGA) (N571)
  • Joint Research Centre Institute for Energy and Transport (JRC IEC) (N570)

Category D liaison to WG 15:

  • European Cylinder Makers Association (ECMA) (N569)

The TAB, Chair and Secretary will review the full list of liaisons and make recommendations to the TC 197 members.

Other business

ISO 17268:2012: Compressed Hydrogen Land Vehicle Refuelling Connection Devices and ISO 14687-2:2012: Hydrogen Fuel - Product Specification - Part 2: Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) Fuel Cell Applications for Road Vehicles, were recently published.

Systematic Reviews ISO 22734-1(N558) and ISO 16111 are to be revisited.

Future ISO/TC 197 Meetings

In anticipation of a number of New Work Item Proposals being approved over the next few months, ISO/TC 197 is considering a plenary meeting with working groups meeting as necessary, to take place later this year. Nothing in this regard is final; however possible locations and approximate dates include late October or early November 2013 in Europe. For the 2014 plenary, preliminary discussions are underway to meet in Japan.

NREL Presents Codes and Standards Progress
by Karen Hall, Senior Technical Specialist, FCHEA

On February 6, 2013, Carl Rivkin of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) presented a progress report to the National Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Codes and Standards Coordinating Committee entitled: Codes and Standards: Progress to Date and the Path Forward. The report was the primary focus of the February meeting, and is available here.

This new report suggests a focus on improving component safety for hydrogen technologies deployment, as well as outreach/education for project developers, code officials, and other interested parties to support deployment, and describes NREL's planned role in these areas.

Hydrogen Sensor Task Group Update
by Karen Hall, Senior Technical Specialist, FCHEA

The Hydrogen Sensor Task Group, facilitated by NREL, held a quarterly webinar on February 28, 2013. Discussions included:

  • Hydrogen Sensor Research in Europe
  • DOE AMR: Annual Merit Review and Peer Evaluation Meeting for the Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Program and the Vehicle Technologies Program (May 13-17, 2013) Arlington, Virginia
  • 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. Abstracts due December 31, 2012 (www.ICHS2013.com)
  • Update on the Hydrogen Sensors Standards subgroup (development of a White Paper on standards and codes for the hydrogen infrastructure)

Minutes of the meeting are available here.

The Next meeting is planned to be an in-person with WEB link at the DOE Annual Merit Review (AMR), evening session TBD between May 13 and May 17, 2013. A tentative topic for consideration is an update on the DOE vision for hydrogen and the role of hydrogen sensor.

For additional information on this activity, please contact Bill Buttner, NREL, at william.buttner@nrel.gov.

U.S. Weights and Measures Standards Development Process
by Juana Williams and Marc Buttler, NIST OWM

Gaseous Hydrogen Measuring System Test Procedures Update

NIST OWM is moving forward with plans to conduct field trials of gravimetric and alternative test methods for testing commercial hydrogen measuring systems for compliance with NIST Handbook 44. Data from these field trails will be used to refine uncertainty analyses of these test methods. Procurement of some of the equipment necessary for conducting these tests continues to prove challenging. NIST would appreciate any information regarding potential sources of suppliers that could provide fully assembled, certified tanks with fittings necessary for use in gravimetric testing.

Please contact Marc Buttler by email at: marc.buttler@nist.gov, if you have information about potential tank suppliers or if you have questions or wish to discuss field test equipment and/or test procedures for commercial hydrogen measuring equipment.

International Hydrogen Device Standards

OIML R 139 "Compressed gaseous fuel measuring systems for vehicles"

The Secretariat (the Netherlands) for OIML R 139 has forwarded the second committee draft (2CD) of part 1 and part 2 of OIML R 139 for comment and vote of Technical Committee 8/Subcommittee 7 (TC 8/SC 7) for Project 4 by a late March 2013 deadline. Part 1 the "Metrological and Technical Requirements" and Part 2 the "Metrological Controls and Performance Tests" will be combined. Part 3 the "Test Report" will be developed after the TC 8/SC 7 reaches a consensus on Parts 1 and 2.

The 2CD of OIML R 139 includes a revision of the first committee draft (dated February 2012) and a compilation of comments the Secretariat received in May, August, and December 2012 as well as points the International Working Group (IWG) agreed on at the November 2012 IWG meeting in Delft, the Netherlands.

On January 23, 2013, NIST OWM distributed the 2 CD of OIML R 139-1 and R 139-2 to the OIML R 139 U.S. National Work Group (USNWG) for comment. Comments will be used to develop a U.S. position and submit a U.S. vote by the Secretariat's March 2013 deadline. USNWG comments were due to NIST OWM by March 13, 2013. 

Please contact Juana Williams by email at: juana.williams@nist.gov if you have questions or wish to discuss international commercial hydrogen measuring system standards.