Deploying Fuel Cell Systems - What Have We Learned

The Hydrogen Safety Panel brings a broad cross-section of expertise from the industrial, government and academic sectors to help advise the U.S. Department of Energy?s (DOE) Fuel Cell Technologies Office through its work in hydrogen safety, codes and standards. The Panel?s initiatives in reviewing safety plans, conducting safety evaluations, identifying safety-related technical data gaps and supporting safety knowledge tools and databases cover the gamut from research and development to demonstration. The Panel?s recent work has focused on the safe deployment of hydrogen and fuel cell systems in support of DOE efforts to accelerate fuel cell commercialization in early market applications: vehicle refueling, material handling equipment, backup power for warehouses and telecommunication sites, and portable power devices. This paper summarizes the work and learnings from the Panel?s early efforts, the transition to its current focus and the outcomes and conclusions from recent work on the deployment of hydrogen and fuel cell systems.