“Public acceptance is the key to success in creating a hydrogen economy. » This is the conviction of the European Parliament. He sees correctly. Hydrogen is a highly flammable element. This is why MEPs are emphasizing security problems and hope that this will not slow down this energy vector, which is still young, but full of promise.
The war in Ukraine will perhaps speed things up. On March 8, the European Commission proposed a plan to increase Europe’s energy independence from Russian fossil fuels before 2030. This shift could benefit hydrogen.
The Commission stressed that clean hydrogen was the “essential missing piece of the puzzle” for the decarbonization of heavy industries, but also for achieving climate neutrality by 2050.
However, the question of hydrogen safety appeared to the Commission to be a major problem. Since hydrogen is highly flammable, its transport and use are subject to strict rules.
“In order to successfully develop a hydrogen economy within the European Union, strict safety standards must be established,” said Angelika Niebler, a German MP from the center-right European People’s Party (EPP), in the European Parliament. She insisted on the safety of the technologies guaranteeing the confidence that Europeans will have in this energy.
Angelika Niebler belongs to the group of MEPs whose work is behind a European Parliament report on the “Hydrogen Strategy”. This report particularly emphasizes the need to obtain resources to promote a culture of safety in the hydrogen sector.
In reality, this question is divisive. Indeed, some MEPs are much less worried. This is the case of Jens Geier, German MP from the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament (S&D), who told the EURACTIV website: “The industry has been producing and handling hydrogen for decades. Therefore, expertise in safety and security standards regarding the use of hydrogen already exists. »
But, given the major role that the European Union hopes to play for hydrogen, several political leaders have launched discussions to improve the reliability of the production, transport and use of hydrogen.
The Commission has also entrusted the company Fuel Cells and Hydrogen with the task of forming a group of experts responsible for ensuring that “safety relating to hydrogen is adequately addressed and managed”. This especially concerns SMEs, because large groups have reliable security protocols.
In 2021, the Hydrogen Incident and Accident Database recorded 600 accidents and problems around the world, mainly due to poor training and insufficient teaching.
Moreover, training and education are profitable aspects, because piling on strict safety rules would make hydrogen too expensive.
