By definition, liquid hydrogen can BLEVE, but this is highly unlikely. Liquid hydrogen is stored in a double wall tank with vacuum insulation. This protects the primary pressure vessel from direct impingement and the very cold liquid provides self-cooling of the vessel walls. Tanks are also equipped with redundant pressure relief systems that are sized for fire exposure.

Underground storage tanks can be either installed in a vault or directly buried. Both offer additional
protection from external impact and fire, but each has unique challenges. Vaults must be properly
ventilated and designed to not create an explosion or asphyxiation risk. Direct burial vessels should not
have any underground leak points and must be protected from corrosion. Both…

This can be a complex problem and response to insulation failure should be considered in the emergency response guidelines and procedures. 
First, a tank with an insulation failure may boil off at an elevated rate which applicable codes build into the relief device and vent system design.
Second, ice and oxygen enriched liquefied air can form where inadequately insulated surfaces…

This production rate of hydrogen of about 96 kg/h is quite significant, which depending upon the application might require a significant amount of storage. There will be a need to determine how many kg the project wants to store from this production rate in order to determine how much hydrogen ground storage is needed. Since the project is in Europe, look for pressure vessel manufacturers that…

Hydrogen cylinders contain pure hydrogen unless they are specifically manufactured for and marked as a mixture. The purity grade is usually between 99.5% and 99.9999%. The balance is typically inert gases (such as nitrogen) with just ppm levels of other contaminants, but this can vary depending upon the production source. When emptied, the residual is still the same purity of hydrogen, just at…

It is possible to store large quantities of gaseous hydrogen above ground, but it will likely require a large footprint due to its relatively low density even at high pressure. Also, if the quantity equals or exceeds 10,000 lb., the facility will need to comply with OSHA 1910.119 process safety management requirements if located in the US. Similar regulations exist in Europe and Asia that…

Regarding the concept of introducing hydrogen gas into natural gas pipelines, this is indeed a hot topic and there are recent quantitative treatments of fatigue crack growth driven by pressure cycling and potentially accelerated by hydrogen.  Some analysis has shown that it can be acceptable to operate natural gas pipelines with a hydrogen blend.  However, this is highly dependent…

Hydrogen gas storage and fuel cell systems are typically closed systems with a variety of monitoring and control functions to prevent leaks. Please check with the bus manufacturer and authority having jurisdiction to verify this is acceptable per their direction. However, a good safety practice would be to minimize the time spent indoors for these activities. Hydrogen vehicles maintained in a…

Generally speaking, the International Fire Code and NFPA 2 apply to non-transportation use of hydrogen. These are maturing quickly, with NFPA 2 currently having issued its most recent edition in 2023. Standards for both on-board LH2 tanks and LH2 tankers for bulk fuel transport are managed by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and are well established. DOT transport requirements for…

FCEVs usually contain only a minimal amount of hydrogen fuel pressure (several Mpa) to support getting the car on and off car carriers. Panel members are not aware of any hydrogen release incidents during vehicle loading and don’t know what the probability of such a leak is considering the loading operations. A risk assessment accounting for the probability of collisions as well as leaks from…