Lack of knowledge is a major issue for some of the companies that are wanting to adopt hydrogen, a fact which may impact the commercialisation of the fuel going forward.
That is according to Rhiannon Chalmers-Brown, Senior Consultant in Alternative Fuels at Ricardo, who spoke about hydrogen commercialisation at the BCGA Conference 2024 which took place last week.
Renewable hydrogen is considered to be crucial for the energy transition, with European member states looking to explore its full potential through methods such as repurposing natural gas networks for hydrogen delivery.
Across the continent, hydrogen is a key priority for achieving the European Green Deal and the clean energy transition. It serves as a feedstock, fuel and energy carrier with applications in industry, transport and power sectors.
Hydrogen is also a viable heating alternative for old or historic buildings where electric heat pumps are impractical due to insulation challenges.
Due to its inherent flammability, technical staff must be trained in safety and equipped with tools to detect leaks and flames promptly.
Mirroring the overall interest in adopting renewable hydrogen, Chalmers-Brown is seeing a range of clients looking to bring hydrogen onto their sites as a way of reducing their carbon emissions – most of which is not renewably sourced.
Driven mainly by the transport sector, the increase in demand has quadrupled over the last 50 years, creating potential supply and demand and also safety issues.
Rhiannon Chalmers-Brown speaking during the BCGA Conference 2024.
‘The supply of that hydrogen becomes very difficult for them. They can’t get hold of renewable hydrogen, so what do they do?,’ said Chalmers-Brown.
“And so lack of knowledge is a major issue for some of the companies that are wanting to adopt hydrogen. They’ve never come across anything other than petrol and diesel on their sites, so that’s the main chemical hazard they come across and they need to mitigate and control these hazards.”
“Petrol and diesel are well mitigated, well understood [while] hydrogen is very new commercially and actually much less understood,” she said.
Even with electric vehicles, fire services realised that the best thing to do in case of a fire is to leave it there and let it burn in a controlled manner until it stops – a method that has been developed into a standard operating procedure.
However, this also comes with its own problems. “It can cause lots of issues to tarmac and can close roads for a long time so responders have suggested solutions whereby batteries can be ejected or removed from the bottom of EV’s’.”
While fuel cells are generally safe, there is a risk of explosion and/or fire if hydrogen leaks from the fuel cells tack or storage tanks. For Chalmers-Brown, this helps build a strong case for increasing knowledge not just among industry, but for fire and rescue services.
“Fire and rescue are very used to petrol, diesel and – even now – EV fires, but as soon as we change that fuel to hydrogen, then we have a whole new set of hazards to come in and deal with.”
How could safety procedures be improved for emergency services?
A range of demonstration projects and proofs of concept installed across Europe have demonstrated the potential of hydrogen to be injected into existing natural gas pipelines.
In 2020, the UK launched a pilot hydrogen project called HyDeploy, showcasing the potential of blending up to 20% hydrogen with the normal gas supply in Keele University’s private gas network.
The H21 Leeds City Gate report also confirmed that converting the UK gas network to 100% hydrogen is technically feasible and cost-effective.
In the Netherlands, another pilot project began in 2022 in Lochem’s Berkleoord district, where twelve homes are heated using hydrogen transported through the existing natural gas grid.
With many more hydrogen projects in the pipeline, each initiative must demonstrate that hydrogen is a safe alternative to natural gas.
Hydrogen burns with a very pale blue flame that is almost invisible during daylight hours, so fires are nearly impossible to see with the naked eye. The gas also gives off little radiant heat, making it even harder to detect.
©H2Tools. Comparison between a propane and hydrogen flame.
‘If I have a hydrogen jet that’s on fire, until I’m very, very close to it – we’ve got a very low radiant heat – I’m not going to know that it’s on fire unless I can either see it or hear it potentially.”
Chalmers-Brown proposed the widespread use of a portable flame detector, such as a thermal imaging camera, to help firefighters see hydrogen flames.
She also suggested the use of better signage to indicate to emergency services where hydrogen is involved. “I want to see a nice big sticker that says ‘this is a hydrogen vehicle’ and I can see it straight away.”
Another thing that could benefit emergency services is standardised equipment such as blow-off valves.
“If I’m an emergency responder, I don’t want to be scrambling through the manual to check where the safety features of all the different types of car are,” she said. “Standardised safety features in these vehicles can make sure that we can actually standardise response.”
Putting it into practice
Last year, Oxfordshire County Council announced that it would install a hydrogen refuelling station and an electrolyser at an existing depot to fuel emergency response vehicles. The Council approached Ricardo to take a look at the site and advise them on potential hazards that could arise.
“We hosted a workshop back in February to identify existing customers at the site and how those might be affected by the addition of the hydrogen system,” said Chalmers-Brown.
The workshop involved the designers of hydrogen-fuelled vehicles, the county’s Fire and Rescue Service and experts in hazard identification.
“That kind of multidisciplinary approach led to a very thorough set of recommendations and a report for this client. It also highlighted the potential requirements for additional training and staff and contingency should the electrolyser become non-operational.”
Although a small-scale project, Chalmers-Brown said that it illustrates where industry could see hydrogen being used on a more local level.
“We were able to revise all the relevant regulations for hydrogen storage and potential technological difficulties on the emergency planning with the fire service.”
