Introducing a New Series of Articles
Karen Hall,
National Hydrogen Association
The National Hydrogen Association
is planning a series of articles for the Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Safety Report.
The purpose is to create a dialog about how existing efforts may or may not tie
into other efforts and key commercialization decisions. It is anticipated that
this discussion and follow-up analysis may help identify potential gaps in codes
and standards activities in time to ensure these gaps are filled to meet key commercialization
decisions.
Organizations and individuals involved in the development of
codes and standards for hydrogen and fuel cell applications are invited to contribute
articles, as well as comment on articles prepared by others.
I will begin
by providing an example of how this series may be used. Let's say that a number
of national and/or international regulatory authorities are creating regulations
that presume hydrogen refuelling stations will have multi-level sensors installed
to indicate any hydrogen present, as well as quantify the amount. This is a realistic
example because it is in fact the case in Japan. If this were an issue in the
U.S., we would then want to look at the DOE
Multi-year Program Plan for Codes & Standards (899Kb PDF) (a living document
which is being revised), as well as the National
Template (132Kb PDF) and International
Template (59Kb PDF). We can see that organizations are listed on the templates
to lead or participate in activities relating to sensors/detectors. The analysis
would be to discover whether these activities meet the requirements completely,
and what steps are required to complete this activity.
If you anticipate
that your application will need to use commercially-available flammable gas detectors
for sensing hydrogen, then these standards are already in place. For example,
UL 2075 covers toxic and combustible gas and vapor detectors and sensors intended
to be portable or employed in indoor or outdoor locations in accordance with the
National Electrical Code, NFPA 70.
If your application is expected to ensure
there are no hydrogen leaks, but need not specify how that is achieved (this might
be the case with hydrogen vehicles, for example, where safe, reliable methods
exist that rely on pressure and/or temperature differences, rather than physically
detecting hydrogen), then you may have an interest in ensuring developing codes,
standards, and regulations continue to afford that flexibility, while still ensuring
safety.
So the idea is to generate discussion about the anticipated end
needs, and determine if the required codes, standards, and regulations are in
place or being developed. Basically, it will be to help determine if there are
any missing pieces to get to the end result. In this example, the U.S. national
efforts relating to hydrogen detectors/sensors are not currently targeting multi-level
sensors; however ISO TC 197 is developing a standard on multi-level hydrogen sensors,
which could be used at hydrogen refuelling stations. In fact, the scope and applicability
is currently under debate (see related article). If this activity is important
to your organization or your country's regulators, then you would want to participate
in this activity, or at least follow it closely, to make sure that the final product
can be used for your purpose, if desired, and not required for applications where
additional options are desired. Currently, the International Standard is scheduled
to be published in September 2008. Does that meet your commercialization decision
date?
The US commercialization decision on refuelling stations is after
that date. Therefore, support of this activity is expected to contribute to the
commercialization decision of this activity.
We are planning to start with
some analysis of the connectors, or nozzles, for hydrogen refuelling. This is
a good example, because it is an activity that is dependent on other activities.
It relies on some requirements for refuelling, and possibly the fuel itself (to
prevent cross-contamination). Most importantly, the connector at the refuelling
station must fit the receptacle in the car, but not fit receptacles in cars that
take other fuels, or other pressures. I will be working closely with DOE, NREL,
SAE, and ISO TC 197 to develop this story, so I anticipate it may be ready for
the July or August edition of the Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Safety Report. The NHA
welcomes other ideas from stakeholders on topics you would like to read about,
as well as contributed articles.
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