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A New Approach To Hydrogen Safety In Europe
 Thomas Jordan, Research Centre Karlsruhe (FZK), Karlsruhe, Germany

HySafe
When it comes to safety, a crash course is usually a bad idea. That is why the European Union is taking the time to chart a clear path for the hydrogen economy to travel down, complete with road signs and traffic laws.

HySafe is a European Network of Excellence (NoE) which is devoted to theoretical and experimental studies of problems related to the safe public use of hydrogen energy. When the European Commission (EC) met for the 6th R&D Framework Program they decided to create a single project to take a comprehensive approach to hydrogen safety issues. Previous hydrogen safety work had been done in a piecemeal and uncoordinated manner leaving research gaps, uncertainties, and a lack of uniform safety principles from which codes and standards could be developed. The EC established the NoE HySafe to lead European hydrogen safety efforts and serve as a central information clearinghouse.

A NoE is a new tool that aims at bringing together the top partners from Europe to contribute to a given theme, and at integrating them into a lasting partnership. Integration is the main objective of a NoE and is quite different in concept from a research project which has a well defined technical objective, a pre-defined schedule, and financial plan from the very beginning to the end. A NoE starts with a topic, a composition, a rough structure, and a budget. The partners decide the division of labor and scope of work on a yearly basis.

HySafe is one of the first IPHE recognized projects and currently the only one dedicated to safety aspects. Funding for HySafe is set for a five year period that began in the spring of 2004. One objective of the five year funding period is to find out whether there is enough support to convert the network into a self-sufficient organization. The HySafe network partners are convinced that this support exists and are discussing how to structure the organization after the project expires.

The consortium consists of 25 partners from 13 countries including industry, research organizations, universities, and government agencies. It acts as partner of the European Union and has an independent Advisory Council of distinguished experts outside the network as well as representatives from industry and government. Some 100 scientists are involved in the consortium’s integration work.

HySafe participates in a wide range of activities. Chief among them are:

  • Developing, harmonizing and validating methodologies for safety assessments;

  • Undertaking safety and risk studies;

  • Establishment of a hydrogen incident and accident database;

  • Creation of a set of specialized research facilities;

  • Identification of a set of specialized complimentary codes and models that can be used for safety studies;

  • Promoting fundamental research necessary to address hydrogen safety issues;

  • Extracting net outcomes from safety and risk assessment studies as input to EU-legal requirements, standards and codes of practice;

  • Organizing training and educational programs on hydrogen safety, including on-line mode (e-Academy);

  • Disseminating the results through the HySafe website, a Biennial Report on Hydrogen Safety, and a Biennial International Symposium on Hydrogen Safety.

Current Activities
HySafe is already engaged in many of the activities listed above. For example, the “HySafe InsHyde” project was launched to investigate realistic indoor hydrogen leaks and associated hazards, and to provide recommendations for the safe use of indoor hydrogen systems including mitigation and detection means. The main result of this project is a guide of good practices for hydrogen use in a confined space. A new garage test facility was built, with instrumentation, injection device, and safety measures. First tests using helium as a model fluid were performed in March 2007. The results are used as input to the work of WG 13 (Hydrogen sensors) of ISO TC 197 (Hydrogen detectors). Other projects underway include:

HyTunnel
To establish the nature of the hazard posed by hydrogen vehicles inside tunnels and its relative severity compared to that posed by traditionally powered (hydrocarbon internal combustion) vehicles.

Biennial Report on Hydrogen Safety (BRHS)
The first version of this “handbook” has been released. The report may be downloaded from the HySafe website www.hysafe.net/brhs.

International Conference on Hydrogen Safety (ICHS)
While safety is one topic among many in most conferences on hydrogen or fuel technology there was no dedicated hydrogen safety conference until the First International Conference on Hydrogen Safety was held in Pisa in 2005. The success proved that there was a significant demand for this work. The second ICHS will be held from September 11 to 13, 2007, in San Sebastian (Spain).

Education and training
The e-Academy is organizing the second European Summer School for Hydrogen Safety 30 July to 8 August 2007 in Belfast, UK. The curriculum has been iterated and the first post graduate course for hydrogen safety has been launched. Details are given on www.hysafe.net/pgc. Additionally, the HySafe network offers safety short courses in combination with major events like the World Hydrogen Energy Conference (2006 in Lyon, France) or the European Hydrogen Energy Conference (2007 in Maastricht, The Netherlands).

HySafe Safety Action Plan
HySafe offers support for all kind of projects that address different aspects of hydrogen safety. Projects HyApproval and HyPer, which are developing a handbook for the safe hydrogen refuelling station and the handbook for permitting (small) stationary hydrogen installations, have been peer reviewed by a group of HySafe experts. One workshop for the hydrogen high temperature production project HYTHEC was organized in autumn 2006, a second one will be organized in summer 2007. A guideline for the demonstration projects in the EC Joint Technology Initiative (JTI) is under preparation, the reporting system based on the same guideline and the HIAD incidence and accident database will a part of the safety action plan.

Standards and regulations
HySafe experts are attempting to enhance the voice of Europe in the international safety codes and standards committees by establishing improved communication between the experts in the different countries.

Upcoming Activities
HySafe has plans for several upcoming projects as well. HyFrac will examine hydrogen induced materials cracking, HyNano will develop a deeper understanding of solid-state hydrogen storage materials related safety issues; the Hydrogen Cars in Garages project will help form and test code recommendations for the use of hydrogen cars in garages.