16 February 2023
HSE is one of eight consortium partners set to work on a
new project that aims to increase the safety of handling liquid and
cryogenic hydrogen in operations such as tube trailer transfers,
port bunkering and transport refuelling.
The transfer and technical handling of liquid hydrogen (LH2) is
relatively well established for industrial applications and within
the space industry, however with use of LH2 expected to grow
rapidly due to its potential to decarbonise other energy intensive
sectors, new research is required to understand the implications
for safety when it is handled in more public and populated
settings, such as in new storage and distribution applications,
where there are currently no science-based standards, guidance or
validated models to enable safe operation.
This is where ELVHYS enters the building.
It's a project that will carry out a series of experimental,
theoretical and mathematical studies on both cryogenic hydrogen
transferring procedures and on the phenomena that may arise from
the loss of containment of hydrogen-containing equipment.
The data generated from the studies will be used to develop
recommendations for innovative safety and hazard zoning strategies
and will lead to the future development of regulations, codes and
standards for liquid and cryogenic hydrogen technologies and
applications.
Working collaboratively as part of an international consortium,
HSE Research and Consultancy, which is independent from HSE's
regulatory and policy functions and is based with its Science
Division, will conduct experimental research on its 550-acre site
into the hazards and risks associated with potential fires and
explosions from liquid hydrogen transfer facilities. The data
generated will help develop and validate models for the use of LH2
in mobile applications.
The work is a natural follow on from PRESLHY, a previous project
that first established the major phenomena associated with the
release and dispersion of liquid and cryo-compressed hydrogen, the
ignition of cryogenic hydrogen-air mixtures and their
combustion.
Commenting on HSE's role, Stuart Hawksworth, who heads the
Centre for Energy at HSE, said:
'The HSE Science and Research Centre is one of the few
places in the world conducting this kind of research: Specialist
facilities coupled with a skilled team, who have the right
knowledge, capability and know-how of experimental design and
delivery to work with liquid hydrogen safely. Liquid hydrogen could
be a game changing energy vector for some sectors and we need to
advance our knowledge of how to handle it, quickly but safely, so
that we can support the transition to net zero'.
Find out more: The ELVHYS consortium is composed of eight
partners from six European countries, involving academia, research
and industry. A project website will be launched in March 2023.
PRESLHY at Safe Net Zero
Thomas Jordan, Research Group Leader at KIT and project
co-ordinator for PRESLHY will be speaking at HSE's forthcoming
hydrogen conference 'Safe Net Zero 2023' next
month. He will use his session to disseminate key outcomes from
PRESLHY and set out his ambitions for ELVHYS.