RCS at DOE AMR

The presentations and posters from the U.S. Department of Energy Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Program 2018 Annual Merit Review and Peer Evaluation Meeting (AMR) are now posted online at the following location:  https://www.hydrogen.energy.gov/annual_review18_proceedings.html.

There were six Safety, Codes and Standards presentations and four posters, as follows:

SAFETY, CODES AND STANDARDS PRESENTATIONS

  1. National Codes and Standards Deployment and Outreach, Carl Rivkin, National Renewable Energy Laboratory

  2. Fuel Quality Assurance R&D and Impurity Testing in Support of Codes and Standards, Tommy Rockward, Los Alamos National Laboratory

  3. R&D for Safety, Codes and Standards: Hydrogen Behavior, Ethan Hecht, Sandia National Laboratories

  4. Hydrogen Safety Panel, Safety Knowledge Tools, and First Responder Training Resources, Nick Barilo, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

  5. Enabling Hydrogen Infrastructure Through Science-Based Codes and Standards, Chris LaFleur, Sandia National Laboratories

  6. Compatibility of Polymeric Materials Used in the Hydrogen Infrastructure, Kevin Simmons, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

SAFETY, CODES AND STANDARDS POSTERS

  1. R&D for Safety, Codes and Standards: Materials and Components Compatibility, Chris San Marchi, Sandia National Laboratories

  2. Hydrogen Quantitative Risk Assessment, Alice Muna, Sandia National Laboratories

  3. NREL Hydrogen Sensor Testing Laboratory, William Buttner, National Renewable Energy Laboratory

  4. Advancing Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles in San Francisco and Beyond, Jessie Denver, City and County of San Francisco

Meeting European regulations for hydrogen quality

(Originally published on www.gasworld.com, June 4, 2018. Reprinted with permission)

There is a clear growth in the number of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles on roads across Europe. Hydrogen refuelling stations are now available in several countries mapping the first hydrogen for transport network.

Like any conventional fuel, hydrogen quality needs to be monitored to avoid issues with vehicle breakdown; this is particularly important for fuel cell vehicles that can fail if even 4 nmol mol-1 (parts-per-billion) of hydrogen sulfide is present in the fuel.

The recent EU Directive 2014/94/EU (also known as the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Directive) is undergoing transposition into national law, requiring that quality of the hydrogen supplied by refuelling stations comply with ISO 14687-2.

Hydrogen quality

ISO 14687-2 specifies a list of 13 different gaseous impurities ranging from amounts between 4 nmol mol-1 to 300 μmol mol-1 (parts-per-million). These are very challenging measurements for even the most experienced gas analysis laboratories, and this could explain why there is a lack of established hydrogen purity laboratories that can perform all measurements specified in the ISO standard.

UK-based National Physical Laboratory (NPL) is currently one of the leading laboratories worldwide performing hydrogen quality at ISO 14687-2 level. Moreover, NPL is able to provide primary reference materials for most of the contaminants in hydrogen. Recently NPL obtained capability to sample at the nozzle of hydrogen refuelling station (350 and 700 bar) and gather expertise for lower pressure sampling (1 - 30 bar). This allows NPL to provide expertise in all aspects of the quality assurance process including sampling, reliability and traceability to support hydrogen producers in gaining evidence of their compliance to the EU Directive. This will, in turn, ensure that hydrogen vehicles can operate with a suitably long lifetime.

Metrology for sustainable hydrogen energy applications

ISO 14687-2 and ISO 19880-8 are the standards for hydrogen quality and for hydrogen fuel quality control, respectively. To support the evolution of these standards, The EMPIR Metrology for Sustainable Hydrogen Energy Applications studied the potential contaminants that may be present in hydrogen depending on the production process including purification steps; this was carried out through a process risk analysis approach.

The accuracy of the analysis was backed by analysis of real samples of hydrogen. In parallel, the project partners are studying the impact of ammonia, HCl and C4Cl4F6 (a Freon found in a hydrogen refuelling station) on a standard fuel cell system to improve the understanding of degradation due to contaminants. These results will support the implementation of a risk assessment model as described in ISO 19880-8.

Performing a similar study for each hydrogen production facility will help hydrogen providers or integrators to focus and monitor the contaminants that could be present.

EMPIR Metrology for hydrogen vehicles (MetroHyVe) project

To support the development of the hydrogen infrastructure, there remains some additional barriers which are directly related to measurement challenges and it is the EMPIR Metrology for Hydrogen Vehicles (MetroHyVe) project, which is working hard to find the solutions for four key challenges: flow metering, quality control, sampling and quality assurance).

The flow metering work package will look at our best option for calculating the amount of hydrogen dispensed into the car; the accuracy of which will directly affect the station’s ability to correctly charge the customer. The other work packages focus on the technical challenges of performing quality assurance and quality control to meet ISO 14687-2. The €2.3m project kicked-off in June 2017 and comprises 20 partners including European National Metrology Institutes (NMIs) and industrial gas producers.

All four measurement challenges addressed in the project arise, in one form or another, from technical specifications or recommendations provided by international standardisation committees.

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ISO Publishes Standard on Valves for Hydrogen Fueling Stations

by Karen Quackenbush, FCHEA

The first edition of ISO 19880-3:2018, Gaseous hydrogen — Fuelling stations — Part 3: Valves, has been published.

The scope of the document is as follows:      This document provides the requirements and test methods for the safety performance of high pressure gas valves that are used in gaseous hydrogen stations of up to the H70 designation.

This document covers the following gas valves:

  • check valve;

  • excess flow valve;

  • flow control valve;

  • hose breakaway device;

  • manual valve;

  • pressure safety valve;

  • shut-off valve.

Interested parties can browse the document online in English at https://www.iso.org/obp/ui#iso:std:iso:19880:-3:ed-1:v1:en.

2018 DOE Annual Merit Review Awards

Each year, at the Annual Merit Review and Peer Evaluation Meeting, the Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Program presents awards for contributions to the overall efforts of the Program and to recognize achievements in specific areas.

On June 13, the United States Department of Energy (DOE) presented Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Programs awards at their 2018 Annual Merit Review. The awards recognize contributions to the overall efforts of the Program and achievements in specific program areas.

The Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Safety Report would like to highlight the following award given for work in hydrogen safety:

BILL BUTTNER, NATIONAL RENEWABLE ENERGY LABORATORY

This award recognizes Bill Buttner for his outstanding dedication and contributions to hydrogen safety, sensor technologies, and the global hydrogen refueling community. His collaborative work with international and industry stakeholders has led to the validation of sensor placement—including for indoor spaces—enabling the widespread deployment of fuel cell vehicles. Bill is also a dedicated mentor and teacher, and has a strong commitment to inspiring the next generation of hydrogen and fuel cell technology leaders through his ongoing work with interns and co-op students.

To see all of the 2018 awards, please visit https://www.hydrogen.energy.gov/annual_review18_awards.html

Did You Know?

by Karen Quackenbush, FCHEA

Did you know that on July 1, 2018, Occupational Health and Safety magazine published a feature article on hydrogen fueling safety?

The article was written by Kathleen Hiltner, MS, CSP, Paramedic, and Health and Safety Specialist for Airgas, an Air Liquide Company.

You can read this article online at https://ohsonline.com/Articles/2018/07/01/Hydrogen-Fueling-Safety.aspx?Page=1&p=1.

DOE Seeks Input on Regulatory Barriers

by Connor Dolan, FCHEA

The Department of Energy (DOE) recently issued a Request for Information (RFI) on regulatory barriers impacting hydrogen infrastructure development.  The RFI seeks feedback on the following priority areas:

  • Infrastructure for Near-Term Transportation Applications;

  • Large-Scale applications for Hydrogen;

  • Large-scale Hydrogen Delivery and Storage;

  • Grid Support; and

  • Other

The full list of questions and information sought by DOE is included in the linked document “DOE Hydrogen RFI.”  All responses to the RFI are due by the close of business on Friday, August 10th.