The critical role of H2 standards and guidelines in industry development
With the advancement of the hydrogen industry, safety and regulatory compliance is becoming a critical priority for its sustainable growth. There are inherent risks involving hydrogen production, storage, and consumption, which can have significant impacts if not properly managed. Robust safety protocols and processes are essential to protect not only the people and environment, but also the industry as a whole and its reputation.
For this, the risks also need to be reduced through standardization of safety practices and application of best practices throughout the sector. In developing common guidelines among stakeholders, e.g. project developers and operators, regulatory authorities, and emergency responders, the industry will reduce the likelihood of accidents and operational interruptions. This is highly required in assuring that at full scaling, hydrogen technologies will be with the highest levels of safety.
Considering the inherent hazards hydrogen poses, this knowledge is needed about all potential hazards.
Safe system designs that account for the specific dangers posed by hydrogen's behavior in both equipment, materials, buildings and surroundings are essential to protect both workers and nearby communities.
Through shared knowledge, innovation, and adherence to best practices, the path forward will not only support the safety of hydrogen operations but will also strengthen public trust and pave the way for a more secure and sustainable hydrogen economy. While the following article focuses mainly on EU, DNV has similar overviews in place for multiple regulatory regimes such as the US.
Existing regulations, codes and standards
A set of directives, codes and standards assure safety in the EU, and these also apply to hydrogen. The need for a structured risk assessment process via directives, further cascaded into (harmonized) standards, addressing the risks related to hydrogen and derivates including equipment, process, materials and technical safety hazards, is prescribed. Standards developed by organizations such as the European Committee for Standardization and the International Electrotechnical Commission enure that systems for hydrogen production are designed, constructed, inspected and maintained to operate safely across industries.
Many standards established under EN are important in giving assurance on hydrogen safety. For instance, the EN IEC 60079/EN ISO 80079 series providing vast guidance on designing safety into potentially explosive atmospheres including hydrogen. Or EN IEC 61511 providing functional safety for hydrogen automated systems, thus supporting process safety and the management of it.
For materials on the other hand, support is often taken from other regulatory regimes outside the EU and ASME B31.12 often being a referred code for material selection on pipework and pipelines, where EU as an example have requirements from the Construction Product Regulations and under the Pressure Equipment Directive with EN14480 for industrial piping. It is important to understand that additional work is needed when regulatory regimes are mixed to comply with one regime’s essential safety requirements.
EU directives and global conformity assessment
The EU's ATEX Directive (2014/34/EU) regulates equipment used in potentially explosive atmospheres, ensuring that hydrogen systems are designed to minimize ignition risks. The Pressure Equipment Directive (2014/68/EU) mandates rigorous safety standards for hydrogen containment, ensuring their ability to handle mechanical stresses, material properties and an overall process and technical safety approach to ensure global conformity for assemblies. Assemblies in this respect can be skids containing several pieces of equipment or an entire plant. The Machinery Directive (2006/42/EC) in return addresses dedicated risks to machines which fall under the scope of the directive. This directive is only applied for equipment and should not cover larger complex assemblies like hydrogen producing plants.
Together, these directives, alongside national targets and prescriptive legislation, complement hydrogen-specific regulations by ensuring that production, process, machinery and electrical systems operate safely, addressing risks related to all hazards in hydrogen technologies.
Existing hydrogen-related guidelines
Further to the established regulations, codes and standards that govern the hydrogen industry, many associations already developed several industry-recognized guidelines provide further elaboration on safety aspects. In addition to the below, a large repository of guidelines and practices is also available from the downstream industries, where e.g. grey hydrogen has been managed safely for decades.
- Safety Aspects of Green Hydrogen Production on Industrial Scale (ISPT Report)
Covers critical safety challenges such as fire and explosion risks, material compatibility issues, and the management of overpressure and embrittlement. The report also outlines strategies for the safe design of hydrogen production facilities and offers recommendations for effective risk assessment and mitigation. - Hydrogen Safety for Energy Applications: Engineering Design, Risk Assessment, and Codes and Standards
Includes engineering design criteria related to hydrogen systems, detailed methodologies for risk assessment, and an overview of relevant codes and standards. The document focuses on practical approaches to integrating safety measures into hydrogen infrastructure and operational processes. - EHSP Guidance on Hydrogen Safety Engineering – Guidance Document
Provides comprehensive recommendations on safety engineering principles, including strategies for risk management and the design of safety systems for hydrogen applications. The document provides clear guidelines on engineering practices and safety measures to promote the development of safe hydrogen technologies.
These references complement existing codes and standards by providing additional context, practical insights, and specialized guidance on applying hydrogen safety processes across various applications.
As such, these guidelines can be a great starting point when developing knowledge within hydrogen as a regulator, authority or new developer, manufacturer, engineering company.
Shortcomings in existing codes, standards and guidelines
The existing guidelines and standards for hydrogen safety, provide the essential context to technical and operational risks associated with the use of hydrogen.
Although standards and regulations provide frameworks for the management of hazards, they do not always give clear practical knowledge on how to apply the criteria for a specific product or application. These are typically methods upon how to structure the process once decisions have been identified. Due to the maturity in the industry, the knowledge to be able to identify these is lacking in many cases. Having knowledge of the specific risks associated with hydrogen and how to manage them is essential in being able to determine risk mitigation and controls measures. Just declaring compliance to standards and regulations alone may not provide confirmation that all hazards had been understood, identified and managed. Knowledge of what these hazards are and clear demonstration of how these have been managed is key.
These gaps can include the integration of emerging technologies, confirmation of some hydrogen-specific data and properties for quantitative risk assessments (QRAs), material compatibility over time, customized safety protocols for large-scale operations, regulatory compliance, interdisciplinary safety practices. By addressing these areas, DNV can contribute and provide valuable insights, develop advanced methodologies, and offer practical solutions that enhance safety and operational efficiency in the hydrogen sector. Which has already been done by involvement in several JIP (joint industry projects) and R&D projects. The outcome of those projects are recommended practices and services specifications, which can be applied in collaboration with our customers to close the gaps and share best practices across projects, as well as DNV published standards with requirements and procedures (specifications) to apply to deliver inherent safe hydrogen system designs. Examples are:
- DNV-SE-0674 Verification and certification of power-to-X equipment
- DNV-SE-0656 Verification of power-to-X facilities
- DNV-ST-J301 Electrolyser systems
DNV's hydrogen-related publications and their contributions to the industry
While Legislation, EU directives and harmonized standards set the bar for the overall safety level, other international along with DNV standards can fill the gaps in existing regulations to achieve safety throughout all steps of hydrogen production systems. As an example, the standard DNV-ST-J301 was developed in order to support beyond ISO 22734. Here not at least looking at major accident risks within large scale industrial plants, integrating a wide number of individual components, where risk assessment of the suppliers must align with overall safety strategies and application permits on plant level. The integrated process can further support risk assessment and ALARP justification.
To bring the theory into practice and back, DNV has set up specialized research centers in Groningen; Netherlands, Spadeadam; UK, Bergen; Norway and other places around the globe. These facilities integrate extensive industrial knowledge with testing capabilities on real life examples including equipment, material, product and major hazard escalations as well as fire and explosion testing to facilitate the scaling of hydrogen and support further safe development of the industry and internal standards.
Along with a growing output from DNV research and development, above regulations, standards and guidelines as well as best practices and service applications give a full way to handle risks, check performance, and ensure safety and sustainability in the hydrogen chain. They are also key tools for pushing the green change in energy transition.
In the end, safety is key for a strong hydrogen economy. With careful planning, knowledgeable risk assessments, and collaboration among all involved stakeholders, DNV can greatly help growing hydrogen as a clean and safe energy source.
9/13/2024 11:45:00 AM