Safety of Hydrogen as an Energy Carrier (HYSAFE)

Final Report Summary - HYSAFE (Safety of Hydrogen as an Energy Carrier)

The HYSAFE network has been focused on safety issues concerning hydrogen as an energy carrier, by improving and co-ordinating the knowledge and understanding of hydrogen safety and supporting the safe and efficient introduction and commercialisation of hydrogen as an energy carrier of the future, including the related hydrogen applications. Thus HYSAFE aimed to contribute to the safe transition to a more sustainable development in Europe. The main objective of the HYSAFE network was to strengthen, integrate and focus fragmented research efforts to provide a basis that will allow removal of safety-related barriers to the implementation of hydrogen as an energy carrier. In this way the network should contribute to promoting public awareness and trust in hydrogen technology within Europe by providing a basis for communicating the risks associated with hydrogen.

The introduction and commercialisation of hydrogen as an energy carrier of the future makes great demands on all aspects of safety. Technologies and applications allowing the use of hydrogen should provide at least the same level of safety, reliability, and comfort as today's fossil energy carries. Hydrogen safety issues were subject to numerous research efforts. However, there have been still a number of knowledge gaps with significant deficiencies in terms of safe technical solutions, including mitigation techniques, and in the availability and scope of widely accepted and harmonised standards and methodologies, together with associated regulatory issues. Development of a robust and reliable framework to assess the safety of hydrogen technologies and applications, and to harmonise testing procedures and quality assurance standards was and is therefore necessary.

In detail, the objectives of the HYSAFE network included:
- to contribute to a common understanding and common approaches for addressing hydrogen safety issues;
- to integrate experience and knowledge within industrial organisations familiar with hydrogen processing technology and research organisations with facilities for experimental research and exploitation of results in numerical prediction tools;
- to integrate and harmonise the fragmented research base;
- to provide contributions based on safety and risk studies to EU-legal requirements, standards, codes of practice and guidelines;
- to contribute into education and training on hydrogen safety issues in order to provide an improved technical culture for handling hydrogen as an energy carrier.

The project was organised into clusters and allocated work packages (WPs) as follows:

- Cluster 'basic research'. With regard to the goals of the HYSAFE network, research facilities were needed for the experimental investigation of relevant phenomena, for testing devices and safety concepts as well as for the generation of validation data for the various numerical codes and models. The integrating activity 'Integration of experimental facilities (IEF)' should provide basic support for jointly performed experimental work within HYSAFE. IEF represents a long lasting effort for reaching sustainable integration of the partners' experimental research capacities and expertise, even beyond the NoE phase.
WP2: Integration of experimental facilities (IEF)
WP 6: Numerical tools
WP 8: Hydrogen release mixing and distribution
WP 9: Hydrogen ignition and (jet) fires
WP 10: Hydrogen explosions
WP 18: Material compatibility and structural integrity.

Two internal projects were carried out within the scope of this cluster:

Internal project IP1: INSHYDE (hydrogen releases in confined and partially confined spaces). In the first year of HYSAFE the 'safety vote' of the PIRT exercise and the expert survey have pointed out that releases (even slow releases, with 'small' release rates) of hydrogen in confined or partially confined geometries represent a serious risk, since combustible mixtures may form, which, if ignited, could lead to explosions and even to detonations. Thus, it is necessary to study different configurations of release (position, release rate) and the accompanying sensor equipment and mitigation devices (ventilation or other ways of enhancing mixing, inertisation, active ignition or recombination). The INSHYDE program has been initiated during the second JPA of HYSAFE to address this need.

The INSHYDE project main objectives were:
- to investigate realistic (ATEX related) indoor leaks and ultimately to provide recommendations for the safe use / storage of indoor hydrogen systems;
- to pull together work packages proposals and existing research projects toward a common goal and a useful contribution to the society for the safe implementation of hydrogen technologies.

Internal project IP2: HYTUNNEL. The phenomena identification and ranking table (PIRT) exercise highlighted that hydrogen powered road vehicles in the confined space of a tunnel could pose a serious hazard of fire and explosion to the tunnel and its users. The HYTUNNEL internal project was established to contribute to the European and global activity to establish the nature of the hazard posed by these vehicles inside tunnels and its relative severity compared to that posed by traditionally powered (hydrocarbon internal combustion) vehicles.

The main objectives of the HYTUNNEL project have been:
- to review tunnel regulations, standards and practice in respect to the management of hazards and emergencies, e.g. vehicle fumes and smoke & heat in the event of fire;
- to identify appropriate accident scenarios for further investigation, in respect to the vehicles involved, the hydrogen release mechanism and the tunnel environment;
- to review previously published experimental and modelling work of relevance to hydrogen releases inside tunnels;
- to extend our understanding of hydrogen hazards inside tunnels by means of new physical experiments and numerical modelling activities as appropriate;
- to document suggested guidelines for the safe introduction of hydrogen powered vehicles into tunnels.

- Cluster 'risk management'. In order to be able to perform proper risk analyses of H2 applications, access to historical events is of vital importance. Knowledge of such events, H2 physical properties and experiments was wide, but fragmented between institutions, persons and country borders. Based on the overall / main aims of NoE HYSAFE, collecting, sharing, systemising and improving H2 skills and know-how, the consortium should work for establishing a tool for closing the existing gaps and encourage cooperation between its partners to reach the goals for the NoE.

WP 5: Hydrogen safety information system - HYSAFE-IS
WP 11: Safety measures - prevention and mitigation

- Cluster 'dissemination'. Based on the thematic structure proposed within the first activity period, the biennial report on hydrogen safety was intended to deliver periodical information on existing knowledge, gaps and progress on hydrogen safety issues. It should pull together existing scientific and technical information shared between members of the consortium and beyond when available. References upon which writing contributions are based provide the first inputs of a more complete reference database that is planned to be developed at a later stage.
WP 12: Biennial report on hydrogen safety (BRHS)
WP 14: International conference on hydrogen safety (ICHS)
WP 15: E-academy of hydrogen safety

- Cluster 'management'. There was only little coordination and not an agreed agenda regarding hydrogen safety research. The community was split in automotive, gas and nuclear expert groups. There was no common road-mapping, no common strategy, and a poor information exchange. Therefore the objective of this work package, originally consisting of the two WPs, WP4 for the prioritisation of the network activities and WP7 for the road-mapping was to:
- maintain internal and external mapping priorities;
- assess technical progress made within HYSAFE, and outside, to maintain the network at the level of the state of the art;
- prepare the follow-up to the HYSAFE Network of Excellence beyond the five years seed financing of the EC by developing the business plan for the European Institute for Hydrogen Safety 'HYSAFE';
- establish the HYSAFE Safety Action Plan supporting EC funded projects in all aspects of hydrogen safety, including guidelines, reporting frameworks, maintenance of safety relevant documentation, and dissemination strategies for internal / external project results.
WP 16: Strategies
WP 17: Overall management and coordination.

Final Report Summary - HYSAFE (Safety of Hydrogen as an Energy Carrier)

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