The energy transition involves an increasing plurality of energies available (hydrogen (H2), electrochemical storage, etc.) on the same site: the review of risk analysis approaches is therefore necessary to prevent and control the associated risks. INERIS, recognized for its expertise in the field, gives us the keys by offering tools and methodologies.
“With the energies currently used, single-energy risks on industrial sites are now known and controlled,” explains Emmanuel Lemazurier, energy transition development manager within the strategy, scientific policy and communication department. from INERIS. “Airports, for example, control kerosene risk with redundancy systems and scheduled management. Hydrogen is also well known in the industrial sector, as a substance used for decades, and its production, storage and use conditions are controlled in terms of risks. »
“However, the use of hydrogen as an energy vector, particularly with the production of green hydrogen, its conditions of use on vehicles, storage and distribution imply a precise risk analysis with regulations to be developed. Especially since the configurations that seem to be emerging on the sites are the implementation of energy clusters where hydrogen rubs shoulders with fossil fuels and renewable energies. Production sites, service stations, hydrogen on board vehicles, this is a real change that must be made to support the development of new energy sectors in complete safety. »
Anticipate domino effects
“The easily flammable nature of hydrogen, the risk of explosion and fire, leak detection strategies still in development today and the potential domino effects with other energy vectors present on the same sites must induce a cultural change for companies. Thus, an incident involving gasoline can lead to different consequences if hydrogen is present on the site or not; the opposite is also true, a problem linked to hydrogen can have consequences on gas or gasoline. »
“On hydrogen, for example, the dimensioning of the safety distances and barriers necessary to put in place is major. This is why we must identify the phenomenology linked to the reactivity of hydrogen such as overpressure phenomena, flame length, effect distances, to reduce them and put in place barriers allowing compliance with regulations. This is the basis of our work at INERIS: analyzing and finding security solutions. We do R&D to better understand these phenomena and make recommendations for regulation. »
“Based on phenomenology, we study sites presenting a multi-energy bouquet including hydrogen, which requires an approach of expertise and questioning on a case-by-case basis, in the absence of well-established generic rules. This introduces new risks:
– on an industrial site: production, storage, use, depending on the technologies used and to be implemented (e.g. storage in the form of liquid hydrogen, what vents for gases, etc.);
– on the stations: are isolated hydrogen stations necessary (but is this still logistically possible?)? How to manage other fuels (barrier distance)?
– on passenger transport vehicles: what safety should be put in place in the event of impacts, for filling, during transport, etc.?
Our approach is also to compare the existing situation between a classic station and a hydrogen station, for example. We can reproduce real conditions on our sites and carry out fire tests for example, then compare the effects. There is still a lot of work to be done on hydrogen environments. »
INERIS involved in several hydrogen research projects
“In this context, INERIS is currently a partner in several research projects.
The HyPSTER project is the first underground green hydrogen storage project in a salt cavity supported by the European Union and coordinated by Storengy. The role of INERIS concerns risk management and the environmental impacts of the demonstrator, as well as the analysis of the regulations governing the development of this technology in Europe. »
“Another European project in progress, MultHyFuel, coordinated by Hydrogène Europe, which this time concerns the entire environment of hydrogen fuel distribution stations. The objective of MultHyFuel is to contribute to the deployment of hydrogen as an alternative fuel by developing a common strategy for the implementation of hydrogen fueling stations (HRS) in multi-fuel contexts, contributing to the harmonization of laws and existing standards based on practical, theoretical and experimental data as well as the active and continuous engagement of key stakeholders. »
“INERIS is involved in studies of leak characteristics, ignition probabilities and the effectiveness of safety barriers. It is also involved in preliminary risk analyses, detailed risk assessment and identification of critical scenarios. This involves understanding the phenomenology and possible domino effects, in order to implement barrier solutions and/or standards on equipment. In this project, we intervene on regulations and expertise, with a view to harmonization on a European scale. We will probably need to carry out experiments on leaks in stations, but also on vehicles. »
“Another project involving INERIS is the Use-In H2 project. This project, coordinated by the Civil Aviation Technical Service of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, was selected as part of the call for expressions of interest (AMI) called “H2 Hub Airport” to explore the opportunities offered by hydrogen at Ile-de-France airports and meeting the challenge of decarbonizing air transport. This AMI, launched by Groupe ADP, Air France KLM, Airbus, the Île-de-France Region with the support of Choose Paris Region, is structured around three themes: upstream of the value chain, downstream of the value chain and the circular economy. The project partners, including INERIS and Gustave-Eiffel University, aim to control safety and security across the entire hydrogen value chain at the airport level. as well as support in evaluating the sustainability of the solutions implemented at Paris airports, on an infrastructure with multiple co-activities and co-valorization of the hydrogen energy vector. We also have projects in port infrastructure, such as the port of Dunkirk, with methane/hydrogen issues for example. The sector is booming, it is necessary to identify safety issues in advance. INERIS supports you in answering them. »
