Periodic Reporting for period 2 - MultHyFuel (MULTI-FUEL HYDROGEN REFUELLING STATIONS (HRS): A CO-CREATION STUDY AND EXPERIMENTATION TO OVERCOME TECHNICAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE BARRIERS)
Berichtszeitraum: 2022-07-01 bis 2023-12-31
As hydrogen's role in EU's efforts to decarbonise the mobility sector becomes more and more evident, adequate refuelling infrastructure is necessary to ramp-up the Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEV) market. When building new Hydrogen Refueling Stations (HRS), operators are often faced with the issue of public authorities not having the necessary expertise and legal framework in place to let the permitting process run smoothly. When it comes to the co-location of hydrogen and other fuels, rules are left to be defined on a national basis and are therefore not harmonised between countries, which presents additional challenges to the successful deployment of HRS. In some cases it is straight-forward to co-locate hydrogen with other fuels and integrate hydrogen into a conventional forecourt, whereas in others the provision of hydrogen can be subject to not insignificant minimum separation distances from other fuels, with a hydrogen dispenser needing to be either on an ‘island’ on its own or located away from the forecourt (or even not be permitted at all). EU-funded MultHyFuel will contribute to effective deployment of hydrogen by developing a common strategy for implementing hydrogen refuelling stations (HRS) in multi-fuel contexts. It will contribute to harmonisation of existing laws through practical, theoretical and experimental data and active and continuous engagement of stakeholders. Specifically, a state-of-the-art-review conducted with the support of the Network of National Experts will realise a preliminary diagnosis of the existing rules, and practical research and experimental laboratory work will address gaps in current understanding. Moreover, the project will generate best practice guidance on the basis of data and evidence derived from practical experimentation, engage key stakeholders (policy makers, public authorities, standardisation bodies) and ensure broader dissemination, communication, and exploitation of results.
Until June 2022, the project has seen significant progress in the achievement of all overall objectives.
A group of national experts from different European countries was mobilised to do a deep research and analysis of the current permitting requirements and existing guidelines for the deployment of HRS in their home country. Based on this analysis, D1.2 shows a summary of the legal framework around the construction the multi-fuel refuelling stations in Europe, highlighting the main differences and commonalities in practice, as well as common gaps in knowledge.
Three case-study multi-fuel HRS configurations were designed to serve as a basis for the risk analysis to be carried out under the project and the relevant critical scenarios around these configuration were identified.
Two workshops with relevant stakeholders, both HRS operators and public authorities, were held to validate the three configurations designed and the planned experimental methodology to test leakage characteristics and explosion consequences at the dispenser.
A group of national experts from different European countries was mobilised to do a deep research and analysis of the current permitting requirements and existing guidelines for the deployment of HRS in their home country. Based on this analysis, D1.2 shows a summary of the legal framework around the construction the multi-fuel refuelling stations in Europe, highlighting the main differences and commonalities in practice, as well as common gaps in knowledge.
Three case-study multi-fuel HRS configurations were designed to serve as a basis for the risk analysis to be carried out under the project and the relevant critical scenarios around these configuration were identified.
Two workshops with relevant stakeholders, both HRS operators and public authorities, were held to validate the three configurations designed and the planned experimental methodology to test leakage characteristics and explosion consequences at the dispenser.
D1.2 - "Permitting requirements and Risk assessment methodologies for HRS in the EU" is the outcome of an extensive research exercise never done before on permitting rules in multi-fuel refuelling stations. This deliverable presents an overview of the process in the EU and the main differences and similarities amongst the different countries in the EU, and it also identifies common gaps in knowledge. This type of overview is, indeed, quite valuable, and the proof of that is that several stakeholders have reached out concerning this deliverable and wanting to know more about the specific procedures in each country. With this exercise, it was possible to identify legislation gaps in the different countries and compare it with countries where hydrogen safety research is more developed.
The project is also expecting to acquire experimental data on hydrogen leakage characteristics and probability, as well as explosion effects. The current lack of such data is one of the reasons why the permitting rules are not harmonised within the countries and often times unclear, making the process of deploying HRS more time-consuming than it should. The expected impact of acquiring such data and being able to develop a set of guidelines is linked to helping authorities define their rules based on scientific and experimental data in a transparent way, using guidelines that can be applied all throughout the EU and making it easier for operators to deploy new stations, facilitating, in this way, the deployment of a well-developed hydrogen distribution infrastructure.
The project is also expecting to acquire experimental data on hydrogen leakage characteristics and probability, as well as explosion effects. The current lack of such data is one of the reasons why the permitting rules are not harmonised within the countries and often times unclear, making the process of deploying HRS more time-consuming than it should. The expected impact of acquiring such data and being able to develop a set of guidelines is linked to helping authorities define their rules based on scientific and experimental data in a transparent way, using guidelines that can be applied all throughout the EU and making it easier for operators to deploy new stations, facilitating, in this way, the deployment of a well-developed hydrogen distribution infrastructure.