Two key aspects of hydrogen safety are (1) incorporating data and analysis from research,
development, and demonstration (RD&D) into the codes and standards development process; and (2)
adopting and enforcing these codes and standards by state and local permitting officials. This paper
describes work that the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is sponsoring to address these aspects of
hydrogen safety. For the first, DOE is working with the automobile and energy industries to identify
and address high priority RD&D to establish a sound scientific basis for requirements that are
incorporated in hydrogen codes and standards. The high priority RD&D needs are incorporated and
tracked in an RD&D Roadmap adopted by the Codes and Standards Technical Team of the
FreedomCAR and Fuel Partnership. DOE and its national laboratories conduct critical RD&D and
work with key standards and model code development organizations to help incorporate RD&D
results into the codes and standards process. To address the second aspect, DOE has launched an
initiative to facilitate the permitting process for hydrogen fueling stations (HFS). A key element of
this initiative will be a Web-based information repository, a toolkit that includes information fact
sheets, networking charts to encourage information exchange among code officials who have
permitted or are in the process of permitting HFS, templates to show whether a proposed station
footprint conforms to requirements in the jurisdiction, and a database of requirements incorporated in
key codes and standards. The information repository will be augmented by workshops for code
officials and station developers in jurisdictions that are likely to have HFS in the near future.