By the beginning of the next century liquid hydrogen (LH-2) will have replaced common fuels such as oil and coal to a significant extent. Safe and proven technologies for its transport, storage, handling and use must be available by then, which means that they must be identified or developed now. This paper presents a number of activities carried out at BAM towards this end, involving various fields of technology which we are convinced will play an important role in the general introduction of this new energy medium and the solution of several problems still associated with it. Also addressed is the present unsatisfactory state in the legal field concerning the laws, technical rules, standards and other safety regulations for liquid hydrogen.