Denmark
Explosion Mitigation Techniques in Tunnels and their Applicability to Scenarios of Hydrogen Tank Rupture in a Fire
Sep 2023
Publication
This paper presents a comprehensive review of existing explosion mitigation techniques for tunnels and evaluates their applicability in scenarios of hydrogen tank rupture in a fire. The study provides an overview of the current state of the art in tunnel explosion mitigation and discusses the challenges associated with hydrogen explosions in the context of fire incidents. The review shows that there are several approaches available to decrease the effects of explosions including wrapping the tunnel with a flexible and compressible barrier and introducing energy-absorbing flexible honeycomb elements. However these methods are limited to the mitigation of the action and do not consider either the mitigation of the structural response or the effects on the occupants. The study highlights how the structural response is affected by the duration of the action and the natural period of the structural elements and how an accurate design of the element stiffness can be used in order to mitigate the structural vulnerability to the explosion. The review also presents various passive and active mitigation techniques aimed at mitigating the explosion effects on the occupants. Such techniques include tunnel branching ventilation openings evacuation lanes right-angled bends drop-down perforated plates or high-performance fibre-reinforced cementitious composite (HPFRCC) panels for blast shielding. While some of these techniques can be introduced during the tunnel's construction phase others require changes to the already working tunnels. To simulate the effect of blast wave propagation and evaluate the effectiveness of these mitigation techniques a CFD-FEM study is proposed for future analysis. The study also highlights the importance of considering these mitigation techniques to ensure the safety of the public and first responders. Finally the study identifies the need for more research to understand blast wave mitigation by existing structural elements in the application for potential accidents associated with hydrogen tank rupture in a tunnel.
Overview of International Activities in Hydrogen System Safety in IEA Hydrogen TCP Task 43
Sep 2023
Publication
Safety and reliability have long been recognized as key issues for the development commercialization and implementation of new technologies and infrastructure and hydrogen systems are no exception to this rule. Reliability engineering quantitative risk assessment (QRA) and knowledge exchange each play a key role in proactive addressing safety – before problems happen – and help us learn from problems if they happen. Many international research activities are focusing on both reliability and risk assessment for hydrogen systems. However the element of knowledge exchange is sometimes less visible. To support international collaboration and knowledge exchange the International Energy Agency (IEA) convened a new Technology Collaboration Program “Task 43: Safety and Regulatory Aspects of Emerging Large Scale Hydrogen Energy Applications” started in June 2022. Within Task 43 Subtask E focuses on Hydrogen Systems Safety. This paper discusses the structure of the Hydrogen Systems Safety subtask and the aligned activities and introduces opportunities for future work.
A Model for Assessing the Risk of Liquid Hydrogen Transport through Road Tunnels
Sep 2023
Publication
Among the new energy carriers aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions the use of hydrogen is expected to grow significantly in various applications and sectors (i.e. industrial commercial transportation etc.) due to its high energy content by weight and zero carbon emissions. The increasingly widespread use of hydrogen will require massive distribution from production sites to final consumers and the delivery by means of liquid hydrogen road tankers may be a suitable cost-effective option for market penetration in the short-medium term. Liquid hydrogen (LH2) presents different hazards compared to gaseous hydrogen and an accidental release in confined spaces such as road tunnels might lead to the formation of a flammable hydrogen cloud that might deflagrate or even detonate. Nevertheless the potential negative effects on users in the event of accidental leakage of liquid hydrogen from a tanker in road tunnels so far have not been sufficiently investigated. Therefore a 3D Computational Fluid Dynamics model for the release of LH2 and its dispersion within a road tunnel was developed in this study. The proposed model was validated by a comparison with certain experimental and numerical studies found in the literature. Such modeling is demanding for long tunnels. Therefore the results of the simulations (e.g. the amount of hydrogen contained within the cloud) were combined with established simplified consequence methods to estimate the overpressures generated from a potential hydrogen deflagration. This was then used to evaluate the effects on users while evacuating from the tunnel. The findings showed that the worst scenario is when the release is in the middle of the tunnel length and the ignition occurs 90 s after the leakage.
Techno-economic Analysis and Predictive Operation of a Power-to-hydrogen for Renewable Microgrids
Oct 2023
Publication
To enhance renewable energy (RE) generation and maintain power balance energy storage systems are of utmost importance. This research introduces a cutting-edge Power-to-Hydrogen (PtH) framework that harnesses hydrogen as a clean and versatile energy storage medium. The primary focus of this study lies in optimizing power flow within a microgrid (G) equipped with RE and energy storage systems considering various factors such as RE generation power demand battery charge cycles and operational costs. To achieve the optimal balance between power generation and consumption a sophisticated mathematical solution is devised. This solution governs the charging and discharging patterns for both battery and electrolyzer ensuring a harmonious power equilibrium. The use of short-term forecasting further refines the optimization process adapting the parameters based on anticipated RE sources and load requirements. To fine-tune the power management solution for day-to-day operations an artificial neural fuzzy inference system (ANFIS)-based shortterm prediction model is employed. The predictive analysis provides confidence intervals for crucial aspects including power generation demand battery charging cycles and hydrogen generation. This facilitates precise cost estimation across various hydrogen and heat price ranges. the proposed PtH optimization framework offers an efficient approach to balance power generation and consumption in Gs driven by RE sources and energy storage. To validate the proposed approach numerical simulations are performed based on data from wind and solar farms load requirements and cost of energy. The results show that the proposed energy management strategy significantly reduces operational costs and optimizes PtH generation while maintaining power balance within the microgrid (G). The predictive approach helps fine-tune the optimization process improving efficiency and cost-effectiveness. The research convincingly demonstrate the economic advantages of adopting hydrogen as an energy storage medium paving the way for a cleaner and more sustainable energy future.
Above-ground Hydrogen Storage: A State-of-the-art Review
Nov 2024
Publication
Hydrogen is increasingly recognized as a clean energy alternative offering effective storage solutions for widespread adoption. Advancements in storage electrolysis and fuel cell technologies position hydrogen as a pathway toward cleaner more efficient and resilient energy solutions across various sectors. However challenges like infrastructure development cost-effectiveness and system integration must be addressed. This review comprehensively examines above-ground hydrogen storage technologies and their applications. It highlights the importance of established hydrogen fuel cell infrastructure particularly in gaseous and LH2 systems. The review favors material-based storage for medium- and long-term needs addressing challenges like adverse thermodynamics and kinetics for metal hydrides. It explores hydrogen storage applications in mobile and stationary sectors including fuel-cell electric vehicles aviation maritime power generation systems off-grid stations power backups and combined renewable energy systems. The paper underscores hydrogen’s potential to revolutionize stationary applications and co-generation systems highlighting its significant role in future energy landscapes.
Renewable Fuel Production and the Impact of Hydrogen Infrastructure - A Case Study of the Nordics
Apr 2024
Publication
Hard-to-electrify sectors will require renewable fuels to facilitate the green transition in the future. Therefore it is crucial to identify promising production locations while taking into account the local biomass resources variable renewable energy sources and the synergies between sectors. In this study investments and dispatch operations are optimised of a large catalogue of renewable fuel production technologies in the opensource software SpineOpt and this is soft-linked to the comprehensive energy system model Balmorel. We analyse future production pathways by comparing various levels of hydrogen infrastructure including large-scale hydrogen storage and assess system impacts. The results indicate that methanol may provide synergies in its multipurpose use as an early (2030-2040) shipping fuel and later as an aviation fuel through further refining if ammonia becomes more competitive (2050). We furthermore show that a hydrogen infrastructure increases the competitiveness of non-flexible hydrogen-based fuel production technologies. Offshore electrolysis hubs decrease energy system impacts in scenarios with 105 TWh of Nordic hydrogen export. However hydrogen export scenarios are much costlier compared to scenarios with no export unless a high hydrogen price is received. Finally we find that emission taxes in the range of 250-265 euro/tCO2 will be necessary for renewable fuels to become competitive.
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