The control of hydrogen losses in a hydrogen production industrial plant is of crucial importance especially for its safety implications. The high temperatures and pressures required in hydrogen production processes as well as the corrosive process fluids can enhance drastically the intrinsic permeation characteristics of metals and alloys. To reduce hydrogen permeation and a subsequent mechanical degradation of structural materials, hydrogen permeation barriers can be applied.

If it is tried that new hydrogen energy applications reach a high degree of acceptance in the public worldwide, accidents than would generate serious negative effects must be avoided or minimized In accordance with this point, the industrial experience can contribute in favor of the generalized knowledge in the field of safety, because hydrogen has been handled successfully for decades in the chemical process industries. All whatever is known from industrial experience and dedicated R&D activities is important to help in the construction of a hydrogen safety database.

A program to modify a hydrogen hybrid electric bus is described. This is an electric bus that uses a hydrogen-fueled internal combustion engine to charge on-board batteries. The primary goal of the reported work is to extend the range of the bus in a cost-effective manner.

Due to the importance of hydrogen attack regarding the safety and competitivity of the European petrochemical industry, and to the lack of experimental data on hydrogen-creep interaction, a dedicated testing rig has been designed and built at JRC/IAM which allows high internal pressure tube testing with hydrogen at elevated temperatures. The tubes, being under multiaxial stress, simulate closely many industrial components such as hydrocracking pressure vessels and piping.

In December 2006 Enel promoted a project oriented towards Environment and Innovation including the development of zero emission plants. The hydrogen project foresees the construction of a I I MW,, hydrogen-fed gas turbine able to couple high efficiency (fuel utilization) with low nitrogen-oxide emissions. The project (partly funded by Regione Veneto, a local authority in the North-East of Italy), will be built at Enel's coal-fired Fusina Power Plant [1].

Safety is a key issue whenever hydrogen is of concern, an issue that needs to be urgently and adequately addressed to ensure global dissemination of hydrogen and its technologies. International exchangeability of hydrogen technologies would be very difficult if there is no common language and understanding as to how tolerable risk could be achieved. Standardization, especially if international, is meant to provide such technical agreements.

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) calculations were performed simulating tunnel accidents with a hydrogen powered vehicle. The investigated scenarios assume damage of the LH2 system, release of gaseous H-2, mixing with air, ignition and finally combustion. Gaseous H-2 rises to the tunnel ceiling forming a strongly stratified mixture. Shape, size, inner structure and temperature of the evolving H-2-air clouds were calculated. Using new developed criteria, the time and space regions with potential for fast combustion modes were identified.

It is planned to use hydrogen extensively as a source of clean energy in the next century. So we have been studied to establish a safety scheme to ensure that both existing hydrogen technologies and new technologies are implemented without endangering public safety.

The WE-NET project started its phase 2 program from FY1999 and it will last for 5 years. Various R&D is carried out for future establishment of 'World Energy Network System" and for early introduction of dispersed use of hydrogen. The aim of the safety studies in Phase 2 is to provide evaluation tool for safety assessment and data for risk assessment of above systems. In order to clarify the key phenomena related to hydrogen explosion, the fbllowing experiments are planned. They are leakage experiment of liquid hydrogen and explosion experiment of hydrogen / air mixture.

This report describes the progress made on the design of the liquid hydrogen absorber for the international Muon Ionization Cooling Experiment (MICE). The absorber consists of a 21-liter vessel that contains liquid hydrogen (1.5 kg) or liquid helium (2.63 kg). The cryogen vessel is within the warm bore of the superconducting focusing magnet for MICE. The purpose of the magnet is to provide a low beam beta region within the absorber.