Safety pyramid
The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) hydrogen safety R&D activities are aimed at developing sensors to detect hydrogen leaks in hydrogen and fuel cell systems. DOE's codes and standards activities are focused on coordinating and accelerating the efforts of major standards and model code development organizations and regulatory agencies so the required standards, codes, and regulations for hydrogen technologies can be prepared and adopted to facilitate commercial applications of these technologies in a timely manner.
The safety pyramid shows that several steps, from research and development through establishing design and performance standards, are necessary to reach the ultimate goal of insurable commercial systems. Research and development of hydrogen and fuel cell systems is the most important part of the safety pyramid because it provides the critical data needed to write performance standards.
Hydrogen Safety R&D Projects
DOE's safety R&D activities are focused on developing hydrogen sensors for detecting hydrogen leaks, which pose a safety concern for hydrogen and fuel cell systems. The leak sensor must be sensitive enough to provide a safe and reliable alarm system that is rugged, easily manufactured, and priced reasonably. Automotive applications, which employ fuel cells in an enclosed environment, are especially critical for the use of dependable sensors. DOE sponsors research to resolve these issues and develop low-cost, reliable sensors for hydrogen and fuel cell systems. Several different types of sensors are now under investigation.
DOE is also developing a second type of sensor to detect impurities in the fuel, which can contaminate the catalyst used in fuel cells. The impurities arise from the many potential sources of hydrogen (electrolyzers, reformers, biomass, tanks, and other storage possibilities).
Codes and Standards Activities
DOE works with code development organizations, code officials, industry experts, and national laboratory scientists to draft new model codes and equipment standards that cover emerging hydrogen technologies for consideration by the various code enforcing jurisdictions.
DOE's hydrogen and fuel cell codes and standards activities are focused on:
- Developing training programs for state and local officials that explain the technologies with case studies
- Providing technical experts to key working meetings
- Accelerating the identification of gaps in the standards development process and provide methods to close the gaps
- Monitoring and publishing status reports on codes and standards activities
- Providing support for key international standards meetings
- Supporting critical research and development activities needed for standards development
- Supporting the codes and standards adoption process.
Learn more about DOE's work with standards development organizations.
Risk Analysis
Almost any new technology involves some risk. Risks involved in working with hydrogen can be minimized through adherence to standard design parameters for equipment and procedures. DOE strives for complete system and cultural safety in all program-supported activities. A safety plan, which is composed of a failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA), a risk mitigation plan, and a communication plan, is used as a criterion for the selection and continuation of supported projects.
The three components of a safety plan include:
- The FMEA is a widely used tool in the safety and reliability engineering fields. The main objective of an FMEA is the analysis of every possible failure in a component or a process. The FMEA includes possible results of a failure and peripheral failures that can occur following a component failure. A complete FMEA typically resembles a tree structure, and it can be completed in either a top-down or a bottom-up approach. Because specific components are typically not selected during the proposal stage of a project, the functional, or bottom-up approach, is often more suitable for preliminary plans. This method allows for the identification of failures on the subsystem level.
- The risk mitigation plan is used to minimize potential risks. A typical product of an FMEA is a list of potential hazards that require additional attention. The risk mitigation plan entails a prioritization of those hazards, possible resolutions for each hazard, and a list of action items to mitigate those risks. As with the detailed FMEA, the risk mitigation plan is required for all selected projects.
- The communication plan outlines the reports that are made to the Program upon the occurrence of a safety incident. It indicates the severity of incidents that are reported, states the method of reporting, and lists which entities will be notified. The communication plan is required for all selected projects.
For details on DOE's safety plan requirements, see Safety Planning Guidance for Hydrogen Projects, revised January 2020.