Project EIHP

The objectives of the project were to initiate and provide inputs to support the development of the legal requirements and standards at EU and global level for the approval of hydrogen-fuelled road vehicles, hydrogen refuelling infrastructure, and the relevant interfaces. EIHP, a partnership between the European Hydrogen Industry supported by the European Commission, provided inputs for regulatory activities at European and global level to facilitate harmonised procedures for the approval of hydrogen-fuelled road vehicles. In the fi rst two-year phase of EIHP (1998-2000), proposals were developed for harmonised draft regulations for the approval of hydrogen-fuelled road vehicles. EIHP2, the three-year follow-up to EIHP (2001-2004) provided inputs for regulatory and standardisation activities at European and global level, facilitating the safe development, introduction and daily operation of hydrogen-fuelled vehicles on public roads and their associated refi lling stations. Comparative risk and safety analyses (developed from the work undertaken in EIHP with respect to the release of hydrogen) provided data in suffi cient depth to enable the partnership to optimise the required inputs for hydrogen-related standards and regulations. The proposals for regulations for the approval of hydrogen systems on road vehicles were submitted to United Nations Economic Commission for Europe – Working Party 29 (UN-ECE WP.29) in spring 2001 for further discussion and have since been monitored and continuously improved to achieve wide international consensus.

The second phase included a more international scope, in particular the EU-USA link was stressed.

The EIHP project might be considered as the fathers of the NoE HySafe.

€ 5 Mio total budget including max € 2.5 Mio EC funding (Phase I)
€ 5 Mio total budget including max € 2.5 Mio EC funding (Phase II)

JOE3-CT97-0088 (Phase I)
ENK6-CT2000-00442 (Phase II)

1 February 1998 (Phase I)
1 February 2001 (Phase II)

31 January 2000 (Phase II)
31 January 2004 (Phase II)

 Reinhold Wurster
 L-B-Systemtechnik GmbH
 Daimlerstrasse 15
 85521 Ottobrunn
 Germany
 Phone: +49-89-608 110 33
 Fax +49-89-609 97 31
 Mail: coordinator@eihp.org
 Web: http://www.lbst.de

Phase I:

1. Hydrogen Systems, B
2. BMW, D
3. Hamburgische Elektrizitätswerke, D
4. LBST, D
5. Messer, D
6. INTA, E
7. Air Liquide SA, F
8. Renault, F
9. EC-Joint Research Centre, NL
10. Volvo, S

Phase II:

1. Vandenborre Technologies, B
2. BMW, D
3. DaimlerChrysler, D
4. Ford, D
5. FZK, D
6. LBST, D
7. Linde, D
8. Messer, D
9. Opel, D
10. INTA, E
11. Air Liquide SA, F
12. Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique, F
13. Air Products, GB
14. BP, GB
15. Shell, GB
16. NCSR Demokritos, GR
17. EC-Joint Research Centre, NL
18. Det Norske Veritas, N
19. Norsk Hydro ASA, N
20. Raufoss ASA, N
21. Volvo, S

 The project was conducted in two phases, Phase I and Phase II.

 Phase I is subdivided into eight work packages or tasks:

 Task 1: Survey/ analysis of rules, regulations and licensing procedures in all participating countries
 Task 2: Analysis of existing and planned H2 safety concepts and technologies
 Task 3: Identification of rules and regulations ready for harmonization
 Task 4: Identification of deficiencies in rules and regulations
 Task 5: Identification of deficiencies in safety concepts and technologies
 Task 6: Proposal for investigations to create a basis for standardization
 Task 7: Proposal for safety concepts
 Task 8: Proposal of pre-normative rules

 The Phase II work is broken down into the following six work packages:

 WP1 - Overall Coordination
 WP2 - Refuelling Station
 WP3 - Refuelling Interface
 WP4 - Vehicles
 WP5 - Safety
 WP6 - Links "EU-USA", Cluster Activities

As a result, proposals for further investigations and improved safety concepts were compiled, together with concepts for standardised vehicle components, infrastructure components and draft harmonised regulations.

The main results in relation to RCS have concerned input to risk-assessment studies, risk-reducing measures and recommendations of aspects to be addressed in future development of regulations and standards.

• Rapid Risk Ranking

In the EIHP2 project, designs of refuelling station concepts were established using simplified flow assumptions. The fl ow diagrams were taken as a basis for coarse risk-assessment studies – so called Rapid Risk Ranking (RRR) analyses. The risk assessments of hydrogen infrastructure included the development of a RRR methodology suitable for the level of information available at the time of study. Quantitative risk acceptance criteria were also developed. The RRR methodology was tested on several different refuelling station concepts for on-site hydrogen generation. These included on-site hydrogen generation based on electrolysis, natural gas reforming, steam methanol reforming, ammonia splitting, as well as liquid and compressed gaseous hydrogen supplied directly to the hydrogen refuelling station by truck or pipeline. As a result of the coarse risk assessment studies, hazards were identifi ed for the different concepts and segments of the refuelling stations studied, and risk-reducing measures were identified. These aspects should be addressed in any future development of regulations and standards to provide practical guidelines on how to minimise the associated risk.

• Gaseous hydrogen vehicle refuelling stations

A ‘Guideline for design, installation, operation and maintenance’ has been prepared. This draft was submitted to ISO TC 197 WG11 ‘Gaseous hydrogen service stations’ to be evaluated as the basis for the development of an international standard.

In fact the immediate implementation of the results as international standards did not take place. However, the industry is using the results as the only quasi-standard available in particular the suggested safety testing procedures.

Public results are to be found on http://www.eihp.org/eihp1/index.html and "Final Reports" on http://www.eihp.org/index.html.