Hydrogen Station Research Articles

Growth in the Worldwide Stock of E-Mobility Vehicles (by Technology and by Transport Mode) and the Worldwide Stock of Hydrogen Refueling Stations and Electric Charging Points between 2020 and 2022

This study discusses the portion of fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) in the worldwide stock of vehicles on roads, particularly when compared to plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs), which comprise battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). The study considers the overall number of these e-mobility (electric mobility) vehicles, as well as within each of 4 transport modes, namely: (1) passenger light-duty vehicles (PLDVs or simply “cars”), (2) light commercial vehicles (LCVs or simply “vans”), (3) buses, and (4) trucks. The study also investigates the progress in the number of hydrogen refueling stations (HRSs) for FCEVs, and contrasts that with electric charging points (ECPs) for PEVs; during the years 2020, 2021, and 2022. While the number of worldwide FCEVs nearly doubled in 2022 compared to 2020, the ratio of FCEVs to PEVs declined from 0.3348% in 2020 to 0.2738% (less than 0.3%) in 2022. In 2022 also, the number of FCEVs was 0.3914% (less than 0.4%) of the number of BEVs, and 0.9113% (less than 1%) of the number of PHEVs. The worldwide fraction of PEVs with respect to the total vehicles (both electric and non-electric) in 2022 was approximately 1.816% (split into 1.2704% for BEVs and 0.5456% for PHEVs), while the fraction of FCEVs was approximately 0.0050% (only 5 FCEVs per 100,000 vehicles). In terms of the convenience to supply the vehicles with energy, the number of worldwide hydrogen refueling stations nearly doubled in 2022 compared to 2020. Similarly, the worldwide number of electric charging points for use with PEVs nearly doubled in 2022 compared to 2020. However, the ratio of HRSs to ECPs declined from 0.0415% in 2020 to 0.0378% in 2022. The worldwide average FCEVs per HRS in 2022 was 70.69, while the worldwide average PEVs per ECP in 2022 was 9.75. Thus, PEVs are much more attractive than FCEVs for a driver concerned about the network of hydrogen stations. Furthermore, owners of PEVs have an additional option of recharging their vehicles at home (which is not applicable for FCEVs). Between 2020 and 2022, PEVs were dominated by BEVs, with 69.95% of PEVs being BEVs in 2022. This 2022 fraction of BEVs in PEVs reflects a consistent increase from the 2021 fraction (68.34%) and from the 2020 fraction (67.23%). Considering the worldwide increase in these e-mobility vehicles from 2020 to 2022, the number of FCEVs increased by a factor of 2.072, PHEVs increased by a factor of 2.322, and BEVs increased by a factor of 2.636, PEVs increased by a factor of 2.533. Thus, out of the 3 e-mobility vehicle technologies (FCEVs, PHEVs, and BEVs), BEVs had the strongest presence as well as the fastest growth.

Multi-stage collaborative planning of electricity-hydrogen-transportation coupling network considering carbon emission reduction

With the advancement of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and energy conversion technology, the interconnection between transportation networks and energy networks is further enhanced. In the long term, a singular planning scheme is insufficient to address the impact of future policy changes and related technological advancements. This article introduces a collaborative planning model with multiple stages for the electricity-hydrogen-transportation coupling network, aiming to fulfill the escalating load demand while mitigating system carbon emissions. The proposed model entails investment decisions regarding diverse facilities, encompassing hydrogen pipelines, hydrogen refueling stations, hydrogen storage devices, power-to-hydrogen devices, and renewable energy generation. By orchestrating the hydrogen, electric, and transportation networks, this model maximizes the synergistic effects of multiple networks, enhancing operational flexibility and optimizing investment efficiency. An interconnected system comprising a 14-node electric network, a 7-node hydrogen network, and a 13-node transportation network effectively validates the efficacy of the proposed model. In comparison to the single-stage planning and uncoordinated model, the proposed approach achieves a 23.18 % reduction in the total cost of the test system and effectively curtails carbon emissions.

Optimal design of hydrogen-based storage with a hybrid renewable energy system considering economic and environmental uncertainties

Hydrogen and electricity derived from renewable sources present feasible alternative energy options for the decarbonisation of the transportation and power sectors. This study presents the utilisation of hydrogen generated from solar and wind energy resources as a clean fuel for mobility and backup storage for stationary applications under economic and environmental uncertainties. This is achieved by developing a detailed techno-economic model of an integrated system consisting of a hydrogen refuelling station and an electric power generation system using Mixed Integer Quadratic Constrained Programming (MIQCP), which is further relaxed to Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP). The model is implemented in the Advanced Interactive Multidimensional Modelling Software (AIMMS) and considering the inherent uncertainties in the wind resource, solar resource, costs and discount rate, the total cost of the three configurations (Hybrid PV-Wind, Standalone PV, and Standalone wind energy system) was minimised using robust optimisation technique, and the corresponding optimal sizes of the components, levelised cost of energy (LCOE), excess energy, greenhouse emission avoided, and carbon tax were evaluated. The levelised cost of the deterministic optimisation solution for all the configuration ranges between 0.0702 $/kWh to 0.0786 $/kWh, while the levelised cost of the robust optimisation solution ranges between 0.07188 $/kWh to 0.1125 $/kWh. The proposed integration has the advantages of affordable hydrogen and electricity prices, minimisation of carbon emissions and grid export of excess energy.

Numerical study on two-phase flow and heat transfer characteristics of the ionic liquid compressor for hydrogen refuelling stations

The ionic liquid compressor has emerged as a highly promising technology for hydrogen refuelling stations. It offers the potential to improve compressor efficiency by integrating the liquid piston and the free piston with the conventional reciprocating compressor. However, the investigation is lacking on the characteristics of the two-phase flow and heat transfer between the liquid piston with hydrogen during one compression cycle, which imposes restrictions on the development of the ionic liquid compressor. A 3D CFD model for the ionic liquid compressor was established in this paper to investigate the two-phase flow and heat transfer of hydrogen and the liquid piston during a compression cycle at various frequencies. The results show that the interaction between hydrogen with the ionic liquid was intensified due to the inlet shock and piston reciprocation, leading to the destabilization and fragmentation of the phase interface and generating numerous hydrogen bubbles and ionic liquid droplets. The two-phase heat transfer area and relative velocity were both greatly increased by this two-phase distribution, resulting in an obvious enhancement of heat transfer. At the recommended frequency of 5 Hz, the hydrogen temperature rise of the compression stage was 55.69 K and the polytropic index was 1.114, which was significantly close to the isothermal process.

CFD model of refuelling through the entire equipment of a hydrogen refuelling station

This paper aims at the development and validation of a computational fluid dynamic (CFD) model for simulations of the refuelling process through the entire equipment of the hydrogen refuelling station (HRS). The absence of such models hinders the design of inherently safer refuelling protocols for an arbitrary combination of HRS equipment, hydrogen storage parameters, and environmental conditions. The CFD model is validated against the complete process of refuelling lasting 195s in Test No.1 performed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The test equipment includes high-pressure tanks of HRS, pressure control valve (PCV), valves, pipes, breakaway, hose, and nozzle all the way up to three onboard tanks. The model accurately reproduced hydrogen temperature and pressure through the entire line of HRS equipment. A standout feature of the CFD model, distinguishing it from simplified models, is the capability to predict temperature non-uniformity in onboard tanks, a crucial factor with significant safety implications.

Enhancement performance of a diaphragm compressor in hydrogen refueling stations by managing hydraulic oil temperature

The objective of this study is to address the issue of high gas temperature for diaphragm compressors in hydrogen refueling stations, which leads to a high failure rate and low volumetric efficiency. The heat transfer between the gas and oil through the diaphragm is a significant heat dissipation path of the diaphragm compressor. This paper studies the performance of a 90 MPa diaphragm compressor used in hydrogen refueling stations by managing hydraulic oil temperature. Experimental results indicate that lowering the oil temperature can significantly improve the compressor volumetric efficiency and reduce the discharge temperature. For the test case, as the oil temperature decreases from 95 °C to 35 °C, the volumetric efficiency increases from 36.2 % to 43.5 %, and the measured discharge temperature decreases by 49 °C. This study proposes a thermodynamic simulation model for diaphragm compressors, and the simulation results agree with the experimental results. This model can be used to calculate the thermodynamic characteristics of diaphragm compressors and provide guidance to designers.

Management of Hybrid Wind and Photovoltaic System Electrolyzer for Green Hydrogen Production and Storage in the Presence of a Small Fleet of Hydrogen Vehicles—An Economic Assessment

Nowadays, with the need for clean and sustainable energy at its historical peak, new equipment, strategies, and methods have to be developed to reduce environmental pollution. Drastic steps and measures have already been taken on a global scale. Renewable energy sources (RESs) are being installed with a growing rhythm in the power grids. Such installations and operations in power systems must also be economically viable over time to attract more investors, thus creating a cycle where green energy, e.g., green hydrogen production will be both environmentally friendly and economically beneficial. This work presents a management method for assessing wind–solar–hydrogen (H2) energy systems. To optimize component sizing and calculate the cost of the produced H2, the basic procedure of the whole management method includes chronological simulations and economic calculations. The proposed system consists of a wind turbine (WT), a photovoltaic (PV) unit, an electrolyzer, a compressor, a storage tank, a fuel cell (FC), and various power converters. The paper presents a case study of green hydrogen production on Sifnos Island in Greece through RES, together with a scenario where hydrogen vehicle consumption and RES production are higher during the summer months. Hydrogen stations represent H2 demand. The proposed system is connected to the main power grid of the island to cover the load demand if the RES cannot do this. This study also includes a cost analysis due to the high investment costs. The levelized cost of energy (LCOE) and the cost of the produced H2 are calculated, and some future simulations correlated with the main costs of the components of the proposed system are pointed out. The MATLAB language is used for all simulations.

Dynamic risk assessment method for urban hydrogen refueling stations: A novel dynamic Bayesian network incorporating multiple equipment states and accident cascade effects

Hydrogen refueling stations are increasingly being built in densely populated urban areas and operating under high temperature and pressure conditions. Therefore, the safety of hydrogen refueling stations has received great attention. In present work, a new dynamic quantitative risk assessment method is established for hydrogen leakage at refueling stations based on Bayesian networks (BN). Firstly, risk factors are identified using a fault tree, considering multiple equipment operating states. A Dynamic Bayesian Network (DBN) is established, and event tree analysis is combined to determine accident consequence probabilities. Furthermore, a Bayesian Domino Model is constructed to assess the impact of accident consequence propagation on the probability and risk of hydrogen leakage accidents. Through a typical case study of an off-site hydrogen refueling station, the practicality of the proposed method is validated, the risk factors and safety barriers, the dynamic evolution of hydrogen leakage probabilities within a three-year period are obtained. The probability of hydrogen leakage in hydrogen station is 2.69 × 10−2 in the first month and 2.45 × 10−2 in the 36th month. Simultaneously, the maximum personal risk value for the first month is 5.07 × 10−4. When the Domino effect is considered, the maximum accident probability is 1.96 × 10−3 is obtained in the first month, and the equipment unit with the greatest impact of the accident is A2. Measures were also proposed to reduce hydrogen leakage risks during the operation of off-site hydrogen refueling stations, with an emphasis on prioritizing safety measures for hydrogen storage bundles and risk mitigation strategies.

Human reliability assessment in hydrogen refuelling stations: A system dynamic approach

This study develops a methodology using a system dynamics approach to analyse human error probability (HEP) within the context of hydrogen fuelling station (HFS) maintenance, mainly focusing on the dynamic nature of performance shaping factors (PSFs) over time. The developed model offers a comprehensive understanding of how diverse human factors dynamically influence task performance, yielding critical insights for safety management strategies to study 8-hour day shifts in maintenance activity. The study explores the intricate relationship between time-dependent PSFs and human error probability, highlighting that as the number of maintenance tasks rises, so does the potential for increased fatigue levels, subsequently elevating HEP. Introducing breaks during work emerges as a promising intervention to mitigate task-related fatigue, reducing HEP. Careful break implementation is necessary to prevent shifts from extending, which could inadvertently raise HEP. This research has implications extending beyond HFS, benefiting industries where operational safety and efficiency are paramount. Future studies can build upon these findings, exploring additional interventions and diverse work scenarios to advance our understanding of human performance and error prevention strategies, ultimately fostering safer and more productive work environments. The integration of system dynamics and the insights gained contribute significantly to hydrogen safety and offer a robust foundation for future investigations in this field.

Flammable gas leakage risk assessment for methanol to hydrogen refueling stations and liquid hydrogen refueling stations

Due to its excellent combustion properties and environmental performance, the development of hydrogen energy has become an international trend in recent years. However, hydrogen refueling stations, which are the infrastructure for hydrogen energy development, contain flammable gases such as hydrogen and methanol, which are highly susceptible to explosion and may threaten people's health and property safety. In this paper, a dynamic risk assessment method based on Dynamic Bayesian Network (DBN) is established for combustible gas leakage accidents in hydrogen refueling stations, and the methanol to hydrogen refueling stations and liquid hydrogen refueling stations are taken as research objects to quantitatively analyze their leakage risks and accident consequences. It is found that the leakage accident probability and consequences of methanol to hydrogen refueling stations show periodicity with a period of three months, while there is no periodicity for liquid hydrogen refueling stations. The probabilities of leakage accident and serious consequences in methanol to hydrogen refueling stations show a sudden increase within a cycle, on the other hand, those in liquid hydrogen refueling stations tend to increase linearly over three years with time. In addition, based on the diagnostic reasoning function of DBN, this paper identifies the two most critical hazard sources for flammable gas leakage accident in hydrogen refueling stations: human factors and corrosion factors, and provides guidance for relevant enterprises to reduce the risk.

Hydrogen station location optimization coupling hydrogen sources and transportation along the expressway

The appropriate siting of hydrogen refueling stations (HRSs) can contribute to reducing hydrogen costs and promoting the widespread adoption of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (HFCVs). This study integrates hydrogen sources and transportation, aiming to minimize the unit hydrogen cost. Two models for hydrogen station siting along the expressway are established. For the selection of feasible station siting schemes under discrete conditions, we design a screening process and algorithm Taking a specific highway section as a case study, both models are optimized, resulting in the unit hydrogen cost of 50.44 CNY/kg and 51.69 CNY/kg, respectively. Optimization verification is conducted, with percentage variances of 6.61 % and 18.77 %, respectively. Furthermore, the study delves into the impacts of different hydrogen demand, hydrogen production capacities, and the maximum allowable spacing between HRSs on station siting for both models. This research provides significant insights for hydrogen station siting along the expressway.

Fueling the seaport of the future: Investments in low‐carbon energy technologies for operational resilience in seaport multi‐energy systems

AbstractThe ability to withstand and recover from disruptions is essential for seaport energy systems, and in light of the growing push for decarbonization, incorporating clean energy sources has become increasingly imperative to ensure resilience. This paper proposes a resilience enhancement planning strategy for a seaport multi‐energy system that integrates various energy modalities and sources, including heating, cooling, hydrogen, solar, and wind power. The planning strategy aims to ensure the reliable operation of the system during contingency events, such as power outages, equipment failures, or extreme weather incidents. The proposed optimization model is designed as a mixed‐integer nonlinear programming formulation, in which McCormick inequalities and other linearization techniques are utilized to tackle the model nonlinearities. The model allocates fuel cell electric trucks (FCETs), renewable energy sources, hydrogen refueling stations, and remote control switches such that the system resilience is enhanced while incorporating natural‐gas‐powered combined cooling, heating, and power system to minimize the operation and unserved demand costs. The model considers various factors such as the availability of renewable energy sources, the demand for heating, cooling, electricity, and hydrogen, the operation of remote control switches to help system reconfiguration, the travel behaviour of FCETs, and the power output of FCETs via vehicle‐to‐grid interface. The numerical results demonstrate that the proposed strategy can significantly improve the resilience of the seaport multi‐energy system and reduce the risk of service disruptions during contingency scenarios.

Study of an integrated vortex tube used in hydrogen pre-cooling system

In hydrogen refueling stations, a hydrogen pre-cooling system is essential to protect the onboard hydrogen storage cylinder from high-temperature damage during refueling. To address the high power consumption of existing systems, this study proposes an integrated vortex tube hydrogen pre-cooling system. This system combines the vortex tube with a two-stage compression refrigeration cycle to create a new refrigeration device. The vortex tube component is numerically simulated using the standard k-ε turbulence model. Comparative analysis of power consumption and coefficient of performance (COP) is conducted between the new system, single-stage, and two-stage hydrogen pre-cooling systems. The results indicate that the vortex tube, as the pressure ratio increases from 1.5 to 20, reduces power consumption by 26.37%–41.52% compared to the single-stage system. Additionally, it improves the COP by 30.9%–53.8% compared to the single-stage system. Furthermore, compared to the two-stage system, the vortex tube achieves power savings of 4.08%–10.44% and COP improvements of 4.3%–11.7%.

A multi-criteria design framework for sustainable electric vehicles stations

The world is facing severe climate threats due to continuous increases in greenhouse gas emissions. Around one-fifth of global emissions are produced by the transport sector alone. Electric vehicles, as a potential replacement for conventional vehicles, can reduce global emissions. Pakistan is among the few countries severely affected by climate change impact. Therefore, Pakistan announced a national policy to increase the electric vehicles market share, calling for the development of electric vehicles charging stations nationwide. This work addresses this urgency by investigating renewable-based electric vehicles charging and hydrogen fueling stations (ECHFS). Seven possible ECHFS configurations are introduced. Then, a four-level sustainable design framework is developed, with the help of pre-feasibility analysis, HOMER optimization tool, and a multi-criteria decision-making method, to identify the most optimal ECHFS configuration. Solar PV with biogas generator configuration emerged as an optimal ECHFS, which is cost-effective (0.475 $/kWh cost of energy and 3.62 $/kg cost of hydrogen), reliable (unmet electric and hydrogen loads are 0.14 % and 0 %), eco-friendly (reduced 942 tons CO2 annually), and socio-politically acceptable. Sensitivity analysis showed that the optimal system is economically sensitive to simultaneously increasing charging and hydrogen fueling demands. The breakeven distance is estimated to be 59.6 km compared to the grid. The outcome of this work contributes to United Nations sustainability goals 7a, 8, 11, 13, and 13.2 and holds the potential to aid the sustainable development of ECHFS infrastructure.

3E analysis of a virtual hydrogen valley supported by railway-based H2 delivery for multi-transportation service

In Southern Italy, near the Mediterranean Sea, mobility services like cars, bicycles, scooters, and material-handling forklifts are frequently required in addition to multimodal local transportation services, such as trains, ferry boats, and airplanes. This research proposes an innovative concept of hydrogen valley, virtually simulated in Matlab/Simulink environment, located in Calabria. As a novelty, hydrogen is produced centrally and delivered via fuel cell hybrid trains to seven hydrogen refueling stations serving various mobility hubs.The centralized production facility operates with a nominal capacity of about 4 tons/day, producing hydrogen via PEM electrolysis, and storing hydrogen at 200 bar with a hydrogen compressor.As the size of vehicle fleets and the cost of acquiring renewable energy through power purchase agreements vary, the hydrogen valley is examined from both a technical and an economic perspective, analyzing: the values of the levelized cost of hydrogen, the energy consumption, and the energy efficiency of the energy systems. Specifically, the levelized cost of hydrogen reached competitive values, close to 5 €/kg of hydrogen, under the most optimistic scenarios, with fleet conversions of more than 60 % and a power purchase agreement price lower than 150 €/MWh.Then, the benefits of hydrogen rail transport in terms of emissions reduction and health from an economic standpoint are compared to conventional diesel trains and fully electric trains, saving respectively 3.2 ktons/year and 0.4 ktons/year of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions, and corresponding economic benefits of respectively 51 and 0.548 million euros.

Optimisation and analysis of an integrated energy system with hydrogen supply using solar spectral beam splitting pre-processing

The application of integrated energy systems (IES) in urban areas is gradually increasing, yet the constraint of limited building space poses a significant challenge to effective system planning. In this paper, to address the issue of area limitation from the perspective of improving solar energy utilization. A novel IES utilizing solar spectral beam splitting (SBS) for hydrogen production is proposed, which introduces SBS technology to make full use of the sun’s full-spectrum energy. Furthermore, the incorporation of photocatalytic hydrogen production introduces an innovative approach to meet the hydrogen needs of hydrogen refuelling stations, facilitating highly efficient co-generation of cooling, heating, electricity, and hydrogen supply. To determine the optimal system configuration, a comparison is made with a stand-alone solar system using a honey badger-simulated annealing optimization algorithm. The results show that the SBS-IES achieves a solar energy utilization rate of 37.72% and reduces equipment footprint by 20.48%. Furthermore, a sensitivity analysis is performed to analyse the impact of changes in floor space on the system. This innovative system is suitable for small-scale IES and serves as an efficient solution for urban energy systems.

Optimization of Emergency Alternatives for Hydrogen Leakage and Explosion Accidents Based on Improved VIKOR

Hydrogen leakage and explosion accidents have obvious dangers, ambiguity of accident information, and urgency of decision-making time. These characteristics bring challenges to the optimization of emergency alternatives for such accidents. Effective emergency decision making is crucial to mitigating the consequences of accidents and minimizing losses and can provide a vital reference for emergency management in the field of hydrogen energy. An improved VIKOR emergency alternatives optimization method is proposed based on the combination of hesitant triangular fuzzy set (HTFS) and the cumulative prospect theory (CPT), termed the HTFS-CPT-VIKOR method. This method adopts the hesitant triangular fuzzy number to represent the decision information on the alternatives under the influence of multi-attributes, constructs alternatives evaluation indicators, and solves the indicator weights by using the deviation method. Based on CPT, positive and negative ideal points were used as reference points to construct the prospect matrix, which then utilized the VIKOR method to optimize the emergency alternatives for hydrogen leakage and explosion accidents. Taking an accident at a hydrogen refueling station as an example, the effectiveness and rationality of the HTFS-CPT-VIKOR method were verified by comparing with the existing three methods and conducting parameter sensitivity analysis. Research results show that the HTFS-CPT-VIKOR method effectively captures the limited psychological behavior characteristics of decision makers and enhances their ability to identify, filter, and judge ambiguous information, making the decision-making alternatives more in line with the actual environment, which provided strong support for the optimization of emergency alternatives for hydrogen leakage and explosion accidents.

A computational-fluid-dynamics study on scaling up a single flat membrane reactor for on-site hydrogen production

The accessibility of hydrogen stations has been problematic for remote areas, although the demand for fuel-cell electric vehicles has risen. We propose a 50-Nm3/h on-site hydrogen production system using the accessible liquid-fuel infrastructure. The system integrates a pressurized steam reformer and a catalytic membrane reactor to produce high-purity hydrogen. This study focuses on scaling up our membrane reactor for enhanced hydrogen permeation while maintaining acceptable similarity and performance to make the system compact and effective. We compare three scale-up methods, which keep the inlet Reynolds number, gas hour space velocity, and Damköhler-Peclet number constant, respectively. After selecting the third case for its best similarity, we increase the scale to eight and conclude that any scale beyond four is not ideal for our specific membrane reactor. By increasing the scale to four, we reduce the number of reactors for the 50 Nm3/h target by 91% while achieving a hydrogen recovery of 91%. Future studies can refer to the scale-up process that maintains the reactor similarity and high performance in this work for choosing an appropriate scale for membrane reactors.

A case study on hydrogen refueling station techno-economic viability

The anticipated escalation in the utilization of renewable energy sources is projected to make a significant contribution to the attainment of long-term sustainability objectives and the promotion of resilient economic expansion. Australia is taking positive steps to increase its climate and clean energy ambitious targets through investment in the clean energy infrastructure and increased funding at federal and state levels. A systematic approach is required to propel the progress of environmentally friendly hydrogen production and to achieve these objectives, a techno-economic optimization analysis for hydrogen generation to use the findings to improve the efficiency of recharging fuel cell vehicles is performed. The results of the evaluation and optimization showed that the energy system which integrates wind-based sources with photovoltaic sources, presents the most advantageous metrics. The lowest values for the selected energy system include the Net Present Cost of $614,957, the Levelized Cost of Energy of $0.4347/kWh, and the Levelized Cost of Hydrogen of $0. 375/kg. More so, the cost of energy is expected to decrease further as the lifetime of the electrolyzer lifetime increases as supported by sensitivity analysis. The study showed that setting up a refueling station in the city of Geelong has the potential to serve as a viable solution for decreasing reliance on fossil fuels and achieving decarbonization within Geelong's transportation sector. This study is anticipated to enable stakeholders to promote hydrogen generation in Australia.

Screening of accident scenarios of hydrogen refueling stations based on HyRAM+ and Latin hypercube sampling

Due to the boom in hydrogen energy, risk assessment for hydrogen refueling station (HRS), which is as an infrastructure to supply hydrogen energy, is increasingly important. It is also crucial to screen out accident scenarios with low probabilities and low harms. This study theoretically focuses on an accident scenarios screening method for HRS based on Hydrogen Plus Other Alternative Fuels Risk Assessment Models (HyRAM+) and Latin hypercube sampling (LHS). According to the unit division of process flow in HRS, accident scenarios were preliminarily screened by accident consequence frequencies and maximum leakages. By comparing credible factor C and Potential Loss of Life (PLL), accident scenarios were screened secondly to obtain maximum credible accident scenario (MAS). The uncertainties of hydrogen leak, leak isolation, ignition possibilities, and the occupant positions were considered using LHS method for accident consequence frequencies and PLL. The assessment results for one HRS indicate that consequence frequencies of jet fire and explosion may be underestimated by HyRAM+. Moreover, MASs of jet fire and explosion were determined by complete rupture of the pipeline of the hydrogen compressor unit and explosion has a more significant impact on property loss than jet fire.