Assessment and Evaluation of 3rd Party Risk for Planned Hydrogen Demonstration Facility

Potential risk exposure of 3rd parties, i.e., people not involved in the actual operation of a plant is often a critical factor to gain authority approval and public acceptance for a development project. This is also highly relevant for development of demonstration facilities for hydrogen production and refuelling infrastructure. This paper presents and discusses results for risk exposure of 3rd parties based on risk assessment studies performed for the planned Hydrogen Technology Research Centre, Hytrec in Trondheim. The methodology applied is outlined. Key assumptions and study uncertainties are identified, and how these might affect the results are discussed.
The purpose of Hytrec is to build a centre for research, development and demonstration of hydrogen as an energy carrier. Hydrogen will be produced both by reforming of natural gas with CO2 capture and by electrolysis of water. The plant also includes a SOFC that will run on natural gas or hydrogen and produce heat and electricity for the Hytrec visitor centre. Hytrec will be located in a populated area without access control. Most of the units will be located within cabinets and modules.
The authors acknowledge the Hytrec project and the Hytrec project partners Statoil, Statkraft and DNV for their support and for allowing utilisation of results from the Hytrec QRA in this paper.