The permitting process for hydrogen fueling stations varies from country to country. However, a
common step in the permitting process is the demonstration that the proposed fueling station meets
certain safety requirements. Currently, many permitting authorities rely on compliance with well-
known codes and standards as a means to permit a facility. Current codes and standards for hydrogen
facilities require certain safety features, specify equipment made of material suitable for hydrogen
environment, and include separation or safety distances. Thus, compliance with the code and standard
requirements is widely accepted as evidence of a safe design. However, to ensure that a hydrogen
facility is indeed safe, the code and standard requirements should be identified using a risk-informed
process that utilizes an acceptable level of risk. When compliance with one or more code or standard
requirements is not possible, an evaluation of the risk associated with the exemptions to the
requirements should be understood and conveyed to the Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ).
Establishment of a consistent risk assessment toolset and associated data is essential to performing
these risk evaluations. This paper describes an approach for risk-informing the permitting process for
hydrogen fueling stations that relies primarily on the establishment of risk-informed codes and
standards. The proposed risk-informed process begins with the establishment of acceptable risk
criteria associated with the operation of hydrogen fueling stations. Using accepted Quantitative Risk
Assessment (QRA) techniques and the established risk criteria, the minimum code and standard
requirements necessary to ensure the safe operation of hydrogen facilities can be identified. Risk-
informed permitting processes exist in some countries and are being developed in others. To facilitate
consistent risk-informed approaches, the participants in the International Energy Agency (IEA) Task
19 on hydrogen safety are working to identify acceptable risk criteria, QRA models, and supporting
data1.
1 This work is being conducted as part of Task 19 - Hydrogen Safety, a collaboration of experts from eight
countries, under the Hydrogen Implementing Agreement of the International Energy Agency which operates
under an international agreement of more than 26 countries. The overall goal of the IEA task on hydrogen safety
is to develop data and other information that will facilitate the accelerated adoption of hydrogen systems and
supports the accomplishment of the Hydrogen Implementing Agreement?s stated mission: ??to accelerate
hydrogen implementation and widespread utilization.? Because of the nature of the International Energy
Agency as an international agreement between governments, it is hoped that such collaboration will complement
other efforts to build the technology base around which codes and standards can be developed.