For a safe future with hydrogen: As an association of independent German institutions currently being planned, we are committed to continuously improving the safety of hydrogen technologies based on our many years of experience.
For a safe future with hydrogen: As an association of independent German institutions currently being planned, we are committed to continuously improving the safety of hydrogen technologies based on our many years of experience.
We present relevant specialist information and topics, including classifications and recommendations. We also provide information on important databases such as the standardization roadmap.
To address open questions in line with requirements, research results are presented in a user-friendly manner (e.g. for employers’ liability insurance associations and fire departments etc.).
Hydrogen technologies are currently undergoing rapid development, with the conditions of use changing significantly. Many of the innovative technologies involve hydrogen at high pressures and/or cryogenic temperatures, with which inexperienced users outside the protected industrial sector are coming into contact for the first time in distributed applications. In addition, safety solutions are continuously being developed that are more economical but must offer the same level of safety.
The safety of handling hazardous substances must always be assessed alongside the relevant safety properties and measures. Both hydrogen and natural gas are highly flammable gases that are essentially classified in the same way according to the GHS (Globally Harmonised System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals). However, the safety properties of hydrogen and natural gas can differ considerably in some classes. Therefore, different safety measures are required when using hydrogen in order to achieve the same level of safety as when using natural gas.
Provided suitable safety measures are in place, using hydrogen is as safe as using natural gas. However, since these measures depend on operating conditions that are constantly evolving as the market ramps up, the safety technology must also be continuously developed.
Various waysfor using hydrogen are currently being discussed and tested. Which of these will prevail in the long term will only become clear in the coming years.
Possible applications currently under discussion include, for example, wider use in industry to defossilize processes (e.g. in the steel industry), cars, trucks, ships, aircraft and other vehicles (e.g. refuse collection vehicles, agricultural machinery, industrial trucks) powered by hydrogen or hydrogen derivatives, large-scale seasonal storage of surplus electricity from renewable sources and on-demand reconversion to electricity or in individual domestic applications. In order to transport the hydrogen from the place of production to the place of use, it also needs to be transported by gas pipeline or in suitable containers.
No, but safety can become an obstacle instead of an enabler if the relevant technologies are not considered from the outset, and if open questions and research gaps are not addressed early enough.