Hydrogen Safety Engineering

The properties of hydrogen are different from those of today’s conventional fuels such as gasoline, diesel or methane. Hydrogen generally exhibits wider limits of flammability, a high detonation sensitivity, and relatively low ignition energy if stoichiometrically mixed with air. Hydrogen is however demonstrably less dangerous in terms of thermal and fire hazards, especially in an open environment. It may however be responsible for stronger pressure effects if released and ignited in confined spaces. Since the behaviour of hydrogen is different from that of other hydrocarbons, a meaningful comparison must be based on comparing all relevant situations.

The use of hydrogen as an energy carrier is relatively new and, as such, may be vulnerable to inaccurate public perception. It is vital to address public perception concerns when introducing hydrogen technologies into society. Addressing these issues inappropriately can lead to opposition to the technology and potentially costly delays and enforced changes to proposed initiatives. Consumers must embrace hydrogen and fuel cell technologies before their benefits can be realised. This is especially true for transport, stationary residential and portable applications where consumers will interact directly with these technologies in everyday life, and with an element, hydrogen, about which they generally know and understand little. Commercialisation will not develop until it has been demonstrated to the wider public that the safety risks associated with hydrogen can be reliably managed and that hydrogen can bring many other economic and environmental advantages.

Ensuring that all projects are managed and implemented in full accordance with relevant EU directives such as, amongst others, ATEX 95 and ATEX 137, is of critical importance to ensuring immediate and long-term success of hydrogen-related projects. To this end, we are asking you to reach out to us and get a conversation going so that you can start off on the right foot.