NFPA Standards Council Approves TIA for NFPA 2
by Karen Hall, FCHEA

The NFPA Standards Council, at its meeting on August 17-19, 2015, voted to issue a Technical Interim Amendment (TIA) on NFPA 2, Hydrogen Technologies Code, 2016 Edition, with an issuance date of August 18, 2015 and an effective date of September 7, 2015.

NFPA will be publishing the Tentative Interim Amendment for the 2016 edition on the doc info page at www.nfpa.org/2.

Revise 18.3.3 to read as follows: 18.3.3 Gas Detection System. Major repair garages shall be provided with an approved hydrogen gas detection system such that gas can be detected where vehicle hydrogen fuel storage systems are serviced or indoor defueling occurs.

Note: The text of the TIA was issued and incorporated into the document prior to printing of the standard, therefore no separate publication is necessary.

IEC/TC 105 Advances International Standards on Fuel Cell Technologies
by Karen Hall, FCHEA

The International Electrotechnical Commission Technical Committee on Fuel Cell Technologies (IEC/TC 105) held their 2015 Plenary Meeting on September 24-25 in Beijing China.

The following Working Groups and Ad Hoc Groups took the opportunity to meet during the week. IEC/TC 105 WG 3: Stationary fuel cell power systems - Safety

  • IEC/TC 105 WG 6: Fuel cell system for propulsion and auxiliary power units (APU)
  • IEC/TC 105 AHG 5: Life cycle assessment (LCA)
  • IEC/TC 105 AHG 6: Energy storage by using fuel cells in reverse mode

The Chairman's Advisory Group also met.

Although the official meeting report is not yet available, one item of particular interest to FCHEA's Portable Power Working Group (PPWG) can be reported. Following the resignation of Harry Jones as Convenor of WG 8, IEC/TC 105 WG 8 (Micro fuel cell power systems - Safety) will continue its efforts under a new convenor - Mr. Fumio Ueno. WG8 will be put into the status of a Preliminary Work Item (PWI) to allow time to re-schedule work packages. 

FCHEA's PPWG will discuss this development, along with ways we might offer to support Mr. Fumio Ueno in his new role, at our next meeting, scheduled for Wednesday, October 7. Members of FCHEA with an interest in portable or micro fuel cell systems are encouraged to participate in this meeting. For further information, please visithttp://www.members.fchea.org/members/portablepower.html, or contact Connor Dolan at cdolan@fchea.org.

Hydrogen Compatibility Experts to meet in Japan
by Karen Hall, FCHEA

SAE International's Fuel Cell Standards Committee - Fuel Cell Safety Task Force is addressing hydrogen materials compatibility for use with fuel cell vehicles. Experts have been invited to a meeting at the Japan Automotive Research Institute (JARI) in Japan which will be held on October 22, 2015.

The goals of this meeting are to finalize plans for Round Robin Testing, and develop an international sensitivity study plan in conjunction with the agreed hydrogen compatibility material test method.

Data resulting from this activity will be used to inform relevant standards and regulatory activities, such as the Global Technical Regulation for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, which is anticipated to launch a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to begin Phase 2 of the effort in the near future.

The SAE activity is being coordinated with the International Partnership for Hydrogen and Fuel Cells in the Economy (IPHE) Regulations Codes and Standards Working Group (RCSWG), which conducts pre-normative work to globally harmonize the execution of testing relevant to Regulations, Codes and Standards.

Preparing Fire Code Enforcers and Other Stakeholders for Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles and Infrastructure
by Nick Barilo, PNNL Hydrogen Safety Program Manager

Under the auspices of the Hydrogen Safety Panel, PNNL has been addressing the need of providing information on hydrogen and fuel cells to key stakeholder groups. On September 15th, PNNL presented "Hydrogen and Fuel Cells are Coming - Are You Ready?" to a webinar hosted by the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) in conjunction with the US Fire Administration (under the Department of Homeland Security).

The presentation covered the following topics, at an introductory level:

  • Fuel Cell Basics and Applications
  • Properties of Hydrogen
  • Primary Codes and Standards
  • Fundamental Safety Considerations
  • Hydrogen Safety Resources
  • First Responder Training Resources

The presentation is part of a 3-year outreach effort to reach out to key stakeholders such as code enforcers from NFPA, ICC and State Fire Marshal offices in order to describe what is happening with fuel cell deployment at a high level, and provide resources for these officials to find additional information. The activity also provides opportunity to answer questions and identify needs from the community which result in updating resources and focusing future outreach efforts.

The September 15th webinar was attended by 85 participants. This presentation will be available as a rebroadcast through the International Association of Fire Chiefs and linked on the Hydrogen Tools Portal (http://h2tools.org). A WebEx player will be needed to view it.

Slides from other training materials for code officials, first responders and researchers are available free online athttp://h2tools.org/content/training-materials. Additional hydrogen safety information and resources can be found at http://h2tools.org. 

Next steps: Training materials and resource tools will be enhanced based on feedback from the outreach activities. PNNL will also reach out to the National Association of State Fire Marshals to explore a future workshop. Other plans may include recording a live outreach session, combining it with slides and making it available as YouTube videos in whole and smaller topical parts. This will enable a broader dissemination of the information.

CSA 2015 US Annual Committee Week
by Karen Hall, FCHEA

CSA Group will be hosting the 2015 US Annual Committee Week in Cleveland, Ohio from October 26th - October 29th. Members will have the opportunity to network, collaborate and advance the objectives of standards for the Natural Gas and Alternative Energy Vehicle industries.

HGV 4.3 (Fueling Parameters) and HGV 4.9 (Fueling Station Guidelines) are among a range of committees, Technical Sub-Committees (TSCs) and task groups planning to meet.

The HGV 4.3 TSC will meet to continue work on the next edition of the standard. The TSC is meeting regularly to align the Standard with SAE J2601.

The HGV 4.9 TSC has completed the disposition of Industry Review comments. Task forces are reviewing mandatory clauses, new reference publications and safety clauses.

Further information is available here:http://www.csagroup.org/global/en/member-events/standards-committee-week.

Heavy Working Group Activity in Advance of Plenary Meeting for International Standards on Hydrogen Technologies
by Karen Hall, FCHEA

With so many working groups scheduled to meet over the next three months, experts developing International Standards for hydrogen technologies will keep very busy.

ISO/TC 197 TC 22/ Joint WG 5 will meet in Annecy le Vieux Cedex, France on October 7, 2015. The purpose of this meeting is to review comments received to date on ISO 17268:2012 - Gaseous hydrogen land vehicle refuelling connection devices. Working Group 5 will determine at this time whether they will plan to meet on November 30 in conjunction with the ISO/TC 197 plenary being held in early December in Torrance, California.

ISO TC/197 WG 18 will meet in Grenoble, France on October 8-9, 2015. This primary purpose of this meeting is to review comments received on ISO/CD 19881 (Land vehicle fuel tanks), and also to review comments received on ISO/WD 19882 (Thermally activated pressure relief devices). Working Group 18 will determine at this time whether they will plan to meet in early December in conjunction with the ISO/TC 197 plenary in Torrance, California.

ISO/TC 197 WG 24 will hold their next meeting from October 26th-28th in Tokyo, Japan. This meeting will focus on key efforts required to prepare an International Standard on Gaseous Hydrogen - Fueling Stations - General Requirements. ISO DTR 19880-1: Gaseous Hydrogen - Fueling Stations - General Requirements, is currently out for comment and vote as a Draft Technical Report. WG 24 has already begun work on the next phase - to develop ISO/19880-1 into an International Standard. WG 24 has also scheduled a two-day meeting in conjunction with the ISO/TC 197 to continue this effort.

ISO TC 197 WG 28 (hydrogen quality control) is tentatively planning to meet on October 29th in Tokyo, Japan. This meeting is being planned in conjunction with the WG 24 meeting described above. This Working Group is also planning to meet in early December in conjunction with the ISO/TC 197 plenary.

Additional Working Groups planning to meet in Torrance, California between November 30 and December 2 include the following:

  • ISO/TC 197 WG 17 (Safety of PSA Systems)
  • ISO/TC 197 WG 19 (Dispensers)
  • ISO/TC 197 WG 20 (Valves)
  • ISO/TC 197 WG 21 (Compressors)
  • ISO/TC 197 WG 22 (Hoses)
  • ISO/TC 197 WG 23 (Fittings)
  • ISO/TC 197 WG 25 (Revision of ISO 16111:2008 - Transportable gas storage devices -- Hydrogen absorbed in reversible metal hydride)
  • ISO/TC 197 WG 26 (Revision of ISO 22734, both parts: Electrolysers)
  • ISO/TC 197 WG 27: (Revision of ISO 14687 Hydrogen Fuel Quality Parts 2 and 3 - TG1: Road Vehicles and TG2: Stationary)

The ISO/TC 197 Plenary meeting will take place December 3-4, 2015.

Did You Know...?
by Karen Hall, FCHEA

The preliminary program for the 2015 International Conference on Hydrogen Safety (ICHS) is now available. The list of accepted papers includes state-of-the-art techniques, tools, and analysis from world-renown experts from research organizations and industry throughout the world. To learn more, please visit www.ICHS2015.com.

This biennial international conference will be held October 19-21, 2015 in Yokohama (Japan).