8:00 AM | 5:00 PM | Badge Pick-Up & On-site Registration |
8:30 AM | 8:50 AM | Welcome Remarks: Nick Barilo,Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) & Center for Hydrogen Safety (CHS) |
8:50 AM | 9:10 AM | Opening Remarks: Fiona Simon, Australian Hydrogen Council (AHC) |
9:10 AM | 9:40 AM | Break |
9:40 AM | 11:20 AM | Session 1: Fundamental Safety Considerations and Best Practices |
9:40 AM | 10:00 AM | Adam Fletcher, Hycel Technology Hub at Deakin University "Lessons Learned from Hycel Technology Hub, Australia's Industry Facing Fuel Cell Research, Testing and Validation Facility" Read more Deakin University’s Hycel Technology Hub is a bespoke hydrogen fuel cell research, testing, validation and training facility with integrated high-flow hydrogen designed to operate at up to 4,000 NLPM and with a supply pressure of 9 bar. The facility was designed with reference to full HAZOP study and is an exemplar of best-practice hydrogen safety standards. Building design, specialised ventilation systems gas and flame detection systems, and finishing materials work in concert to ensure a safe and Australian-leading hydrogen facility. Safety audits, conducted by Swagelok and Draeger, exemplify Hycel’s commitment to best practice safety approaches. Commissioned in October 2024 and currently undertaking industry-based fuel cell testing and validation, Hycel Technology Hub is gathering and sharing lessons learned. This presentation will discuss Hycel Technology Hub’s design, construction and commissioning process including pain points and recommendations for improvement. Read less |
10:00 AM | 10:20 AM | Derek Cross, GexCon "Explosion Mechanics in Relation to Hydrogen" Read more Hydrogen has been commonly used for years and has a range of properties that are now well understood by the broader industry. Some of those properties, such as flammability and reactivity, mean that hydrogen displays some unique characteristics with respect to explosions. Whilst hydrogen is now familiar to many, some of its properties and how they relate to explosion outcomes, are less commonly understood. This submission will examine the general topic of flammable gas explosion mechanics at a high level. The discussion will cover topics such as: the factors that contribute to explosions, and what elements increase the severity of explosions, with particular focus on confinement, congestion and turbulence. Following the discussion on general explosion mechanics, the submission will relate these specifically to hydrogen and the properties of hydrogen that can lead to increased explosion severity. Finally, the submission will briefly discuss results that have been observed for simulations of the unique case of hydrogen/oxygen explosions within vessels. These CFD simulations have been run for a number of projects to simulate the formation of a flammable atmosphere in an oxygen vessel, typically due to a leaking electrolyser stack membrane allowing a hydrogen to leak into an oxygen/water separator. Whilst the results are based on simulation only, they have provided insight into the potential consequences of these events and the means to practicably mitigate them. Read less |
10:20 AM | 10:40 AM | Katrina Almeida, Gexcon UK "Effect of Fire Walls on Explosion Risk in Hydrogen Storage Facilities" Read more Industry has extensive experience in using hydrogen, however, many new applications require hydrogen to be deployed close to the public. One mitigation measure that is frequently encountered in hydrogen installations is the use of fire walls to protect equipment, buildings, roads and other public places from potential jet fires. However, the use of fire walls can also increase the accumulation of hydrogen due to the reduction in ventilation caused by the walls. The accumulation of a large flammable cloud of hydrogen can result in large explosion overpressures in case of ignition. In particular, hydrogen clouds at concentrations above 10% can undergo a deflagration to detonation transition (DDT), which would result in severe overpressures and potentially catastrophic damage. This contribution will present a study of several accidental release scenarios in a typical hydrogen storage facility. CFD modelling was used to understand the effect of the presence and geometry of fire walls and storage tank configurations on the air flow patterns to check whether there are areas of low ventilation where hydrogen could accumulate. The dispersion behaviour of different leaks was then simulated, allowing us to understand how the fire walls and tank geometry influence both the size and concentration of the flammable clouds. Finally, selected flammable clouds were ignited to obtain the potential explosion overpressures. The objective of this presentation is to highlight the potential disadvantages to using fire walls as a mitigation measure against thermal criteria and the factors that influence the severity of potential explosions in hydrogen storage facilities. Read less |
10:40 AM | 11:00 AM | Paul Medwell, University of Adelaide It is widely reported that hydrogen flames can be difficult to see, thus presenting a hazard whereby individuals could inadvertently come in contact with a naked flame. Whether because of a hydrogen fire, or as part of normal appliance operation, the different flame appearance of hydrogen compared with natural gas will be important for consumer acceptance and could present a safety barrier in the application of residential appliances in a domestic setting. Albeit inconsistently reported, many reference sources state a definitive colour; however, hydrogen flames can be almost any colour of the rainbow. Understanding the flame colour is important, but more critical to ensure safety is whether the flame is clearly visible, and under which conditions it is not reliably detectable by eye. The objective of this work was to isolate and quantify the factors that may influence hydrogen flame visibility, and to determine if flame visibility can be relied upon as an indicator of flame presence in a similar way that natural gas flames are expected to be visible in a domestic setting. A series of experimental testing was performed to assess visibility under real-world conditions. The outcomes highlight that making a safety assessment using conventional descriptions of flame appearance is not recommended because of uncontrolled factors in practical settings. Read less |
11:00 AM | 11:20 AM | Joint Q&A |
11:20 AM | 12:40 PM | Lunch and (Members Only) Regional Committee Meeting for Japan |
12:40 PM | 2:20 PM | Session 2: Hazard Analysis |
12:40 PM | 1:00 PM | Lisa Hein, GPA Engineering "Balancing Act: Effective Sid Strategies for Hydrogen Facilities" Read more Safety in Design (SiD) practices are continually evolving across the processing industry. SiD can include comprehensive risk assessments such as HAZID, HAZOP, QRA, LOPA, Bowtie Risk Assessment, Layout Reviews, and SFAIRP studies. The application of SiD depends on industry maturity, regulatory requirements, incident learnings, and the expertise of study leaders. Hydrogen projects are commissioned by operators with varying experience and design standards. A balanced approach is essential to ensure risk is reduced SFAIRP without incurring unnecessary costs. This paper outlines challenges and recommendations for achieving fit-for-purpose SiD in hydrogen projects. Challenges in SiD for hydrogen projects include: - Vendor ‘Black Box’ Designs: Proprietary vendor equipment (e.g., electrolyser, compressor, storage packages) has confidentiality requirements and risk studies are not always shared with BOP designers, potentially resulting in inadequate safeguards.
- Overseas Equipment Suppliers: Equipment may be designed to standards acceptable in overseas operating environments but may not meet Australian Standards or tolerable risk targets. Initial contractual commitments can prevent necessary modifications during SiD studies due to cost and schedule impacts.
- Understanding Consequences: Outsourced consequence modelling may not be communicated effectively to designers. Early involvement of designers in these studies is crucial for informed layout decisions.
- Developing Australian Standards: Ongoing development of standards for hydrogen facilities can result in inconsistent approaches and designs between practitioners. This paper shares GPA’s experiences across multiple hydrogen design projects, lessons learned, and best practices for integrating SiD. It emphasizes the importance of bridging gaps between safety in design, design, consequence modelling, and vendor package integration.
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1:00 PM | 1:20 PM | Arjun Mulloth, AcuTech Consulting Singapore Pte Ltd "Case Study – Lessons Learnt from Road Transportation Quantitative Risk Assessment (QRA) Study of High Pressure Hydrogen Tube Trailer in Singapore" Read more The storage and transport of hydrogen via tube trailer is a mature technology with a long history of use. High pressure hydrogen is typically stored as compressed gas in a tube trailer to serve many important process applications in the semiconductor industries. The tube trailer is typically filled at hydrogen generation plants, hooked up to a prime mover, and transported to the end user facility. In densely populated areas that have sensitive receptors near roads, it is necessary to assess the risk of loss of containment of the tube trailers during road transportation. In Singapore, safety of road transportation of hazardous materials is managed by the local regulatory authorities through the Quantitative Risk Assessment (QRA) framework. Transporters/logistic companies that transport pressurized hydrogen may be required to undertake a study depending on the packaging container size and transport route, as part of the transport licensing requirements. AcuTech was recently engaged by an industrial gas company to conduct a transport QRA (tQRA) study for the road transport of gaseous hydrogen in tube trailer from their manufacturing facility to the Eastern side of Singapore. This case study presents the challenges and lessons learnt from the tQRA study. AcuTech will discuss credible loss of containment scenarios from hydrogen tube trailer and the resulting event outcomes, risk acceptance criteria for road transportation, limitations on the consequence outcome results generated by software in analyzing impacts to sensitive receptors, and practicable control measures that can be implemented to manage the risk to ALARP for all stakeholders involved. Read less |
1:20 PM | 1:40 PM | Yup Yoo, Korea Institute of Industrial Technology "CFD Based Optimization of Ventilation System in Steam Methane Reforming (SMR) Process By Hydrogen Leak Scenario" Read more This research aims to enhance the safety of the steam methane reforming (SMR) process by analyzing potential hydrogen leakage scenarios and optimizing the ventilation system. Given hydrogen's low explosive limit (LEL), any leakage poses a significant risk of accidents. Therefore, the ventilation system has been designed to maintain hydrogen levels below 1% by volume as a precaution. We employ Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations to analyze the dispersion of hydrogen concentrations within the actual SMR process layout. The simulations apply the Realizable k-ε turbulence model. We considered a scenario where leaked hydrogen diffuses within the facility and then disperses outdoors through the ventilation system. The study found that placing outlets at the top of the system provided the best ventilation performance, as hydrogen naturally diffuses upward. Ventilation efficiency improved by over 40% compared to the least effective configuration when both the outlet and air intake were positioned on the same wall and at the top. This improvement was attributed to enhanced overall airflow circulation within the facility. These findings offer practical guidelines for designing ventilation systems in SMR facilities to enhance safety. Read less |
1:40 PM | 2:00 PM | Danielle Murphy, WHA International & Hydrogen Safety Panel "Hazards Associated with the Delayed Ignition of Hydrogen Releases" Read more Whenever hydrogen is present within a system, there is a potential for a hydrogen release. If a release occurs without immediate ignition, a flammable cloud will often develop. These releases present a major safety hazard, as the delayed ignition of a premixed hydrogen-air cloud has the potential to generate significant overpressures. These events are challenging to mitigate, as there are different types of delayed ignition hazards, depending on the nature of the release and its surroundings, each of which can require different mitigation strategies. This presentation outlines the types of delayed ignition hazards a hydrogen release presents, the key parameters that affect their severity, and the most effective strategies to mitigate these events. In addition, current known limitations and gaps in existing codes and standards will be discussed. Read less |
2:00 PM | 2:20 PM | Joint Q&A |
2:20 PM | 2:50 PM | Break |
2:50 PM | 4:10 PM | Session 3: Safety in the Hydrogen Transition |
2:50 PM | 3:10 PM | Phil Johnson, Sherpa Consulting "Risk Assessment Challenges for HRS Projects – Our Experiences" Read more In Australia, energy operators are in various project stages in the development of facilities generating, storing and dispensing hydrogen. From a process safety viewpoint, careful consideration of the hydrogen process and storage conditions is required. The same level of risk assessment rigour that is applied to a traditional energy production facility equally applies to new energy facilities. In particular, there are several process safety challenges that apply to a Hydrogen Refuelling Station (HRS). Of note, the management of interfaces between the Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking (PCBU), i.e. the owner/operator of the HRS and vendors designing manufacturing and supplying the packages requires particular attention. Our experience has shown that the HRS process design is relatively complex with various vendor package interfaces that individually have undergone their own risk review process but not in totality. Likewise, the level of process safety assessments varies between the PCBU and the vendor necessitating harmonization to ensure the risks meet operator as well as regulatory risk regimes. - This paper outlines the challenges that may occur in a project to develop a HRS, including:
- Legislative (health and safety) requirements on the PCBU and equipment designer/manufacturer.
- State stakeholders, requirements and guidance.
- Changes in HRS technology and development of standards over the life of the project.
- Clarity on key design deliverables and management of documentation.
- Identification of Work Health and Safety (WHS) hazards and issues relating to conduct of Hazard and Operability (HAZOP) studies on vendor packages.
- Assessment of risks and potential conflicts with vendor risk assessments, including Safety Integrity Level (SIL) allocation and verification.
- Tips are provided to address these challenges in delivering a HRS in Australia.
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3:10 PM | 3:30 PM | Chris Fay, ARUP "Planning for Safe and Sustainable Co-Deployment: Environmental Considerations in Coastal Hydrogen and Carbon Removal Projects" Read more As hydrogen production technologies expand into coastal and offshore settings, particularly through seawater electrolysis that also facilitates ocean-based carbon dioxide removal, new environmental and safety risks must be considered in parallel. This presentation draws on the Equatic project in Canada, which combines hydrogen generation with ocean alkalinity enhancement, to explore the intersecting safety, regulatory, and environmental planning challenges of these emerging systems. Topics will include: - Environmental risk considerations associated with hydrogen production in marine contexts, including chlorine by-products, localised pH changes, and hydrogen venting.
- The role of environmental impact assessment and permitting processes in supporting hydrogen safety from the outset.
- Navigating public perception, Indigenous consultation, and multi-agency approvals in sensitive coastal environments.
- Insights on designing safe, scalable, and publicly acceptable hydrogen infrastructure alongside carbon removal goals.
- The presentation offers a planning and regulatory perspective to complement technical safety approaches, helping ensure hydrogen deployment aligns with environmental thresholds, community values, and long-term climate goals.
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3:30 PM | 3:50 PM | George Sfinas, Standards Australia "Standards Australia's Role in the Hydrogen Transition" Read more Standards Australia plays a pivotal role in the development and implementation of standards that drive innovation, safety, and efficiency across various sectors. This presentation will explore the multifaceted benefits of standards and the rigorous process of standards development, highlighting how these efforts contribute to Australia's economic and technological advancement. Read less |
3:50 PM | 4:10 PM | Joint Q&A |
4:10 PM | 5:30 PM | Welcome Reception |