Safety and regulations

Every new form of energy requires time before it becomes accepted. Consumers must be made familiar with the idea that a different form of energy supply can be just as effective and secure as the source they are currently used to.

Industry has used hydrogen for industrial purposes for more than 40 years. During that time, British Columbia, Canada has developed an early infrastructure that can produce, store, transport and utilize hydrogen safely. Importantly, it can scaled up with higher demand.

Hydrogen has proven to be as safe or safer than other flammable fuels such as gasoline or natural gas. However as a gaseous fuel, hydrogen has unique properties and behaviours from fuels we use today.

To ensure the responsible handling of hydrogen, international safety standards for hydrogen as a fuel are being developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). The Canadian Hydrogen Installation Code (CHIC) defines the requirements applicable to the installation of hydrogen equipment. It is a useful tool for the approval and the installation of hydrogen fuelling stations in BC.

In addition, the Canadian Transportation Fuel Cell Alliance's Codes and Standards Working Group addresses hydrogen safety issues. For more information, please visit here.

BC has developed extensive expertise in:

• Hydrogen safety and handling
• Modelling, simulation and testing methods to ensure safe operation
• Certification procedures for new installations
• Developing appropriate codes and standards
• Developing codes and standards for safe building and installation practices
• Educating fire and life safety professionals

Companies that manufacture hydrogen and fuel cell products and build hydrogen stations use many features that  continue to be validated through safety tests, however our projects have shown unequivocally that hydrogen can be produced and transported cleanly and safely.

Ultimately consumers will play an integral role in the commercialization of hydrogen. The more aware consumers are of the fuels used, the safer the transition to hydrogen will be.