An index-based risk assessment model for hydrogen infrastructure

This study focuses on the development of a risk assessment model associated with the safety of a hydrogen infrastructure system. The safety of hydrogen infrastructure is one of the crucial pre-requisites for a sustainable economy and accordingly, its design should be made based upon the performance to investigate and evaluate the risks from or out of the required infrastructure. In order to support strategic decision-making for safe hydrogen infrastructure, this study proposes an appropriate index-based risk assessment model. The model evaluates the hydrogen infrastructure using the relative risk ranking of the hydrogen activities such as hydrogen production, storage and transportation, and the relative impact levels of regions. The relative risk rankings of the hydrogen activities are rated a quantitative risk analysis, whereas the relative impact level of regions is rated based on the regional characteristics such as population density. With consideration of regional characteristics, the proposed model makes it possible not only to assess the risks of processes and technologies associated with hydrogen but also to compare the relative safety levels of the hydrogen infrastructures made up with various hydrogen activities. In order to show the features and capabilities of the model, four future hydrogen infrastructure scenarios in Korea are examined in the study. The result shows that distributed production, and mass storage and transportation via liquefied hydrogen facility are relatively safer than centralized production, and compressed-gaseous hydrogen storage and transportation, respectively. Copyright (C) 2011, Hydrogen Energy Publications, LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.