Risk-Informed Process and Tools for Permitting Hydrogen Fueling Stations

The permitting process for hydrogen fueling stations varies from country to country. However, a common step in the permitting process is the demonstration that the proposed fueling station meets certain safety requirements. Currently, many permitting authorities rely on compliance with well known codes and standards as a means to permit a facility. Current codes and standards for hydrogen facilities require certain safety features, specify equipment made of material suitable for hydrogen environment, and include separation or safety distances. Thus, compliance with the code and standard requirements is widely accepted as evidence of a safe design. However, to ensure that a hydrogen facility is indeed safe, the code and standard requirements should be identified using a risk-informed process that utilizes an acceptable level of risk. When compliance with one or more code or standard requirements is not possible, an evaluation of the risk associated with the exemptions to the requirements should be understood and conveyed to the Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ). Establishment of a consistent risk assessment toolset and associated data is essential to performing these risk evaluations. This paper describes an approach for risk-informing the permitting process for hydrogen fueling stations that relies primarily on the establishment of risk-informed codes and standards. The proposed risk-informed process begins with the establishment of acceptable risk criteria associated with the operation of hydrogen fueling stations. Using accepted Quantitative Risk Assessment (QRA) techniques and the established risk criteria, the minimum code and standard requirements necessary to ensure the safe operation of hydrogen facilities can be identified. Risk informed permitting processes exist in some countries and are being developed in others. To facilitate consistent risk-informed approaches, the participants in the International Energy Agency (IEA) Task 19 on hydrogen safety are working to identify acceptable risk criteria, QRA models, and supporting data.