Hydrogen Safety: How Different Countries Take Separate Approaches
Hydrogen, as an energy source, needs to be included more and more in security systems for civil and military purposes.
Considering the wide range of options it offers (storage/storage of electricity, fuel), it is certainly interesting as part of reserve systems that currently run on fossil fuels (hospitals, large systems equipped with aggregates in case of power outages), but also for installation in residential buildings.
These systems can be switched to hydrogen, which will ensure the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, but also the safety of using such systems in closed spaces (for example, ships or rooms) that can potentially be places where carbon monoxide (CO) develops during the operation of backup systems, especially in situations when such systems are used minimally.
Such reserve systems already exist on the market
Such reserve systems already exist on the market, and bearing in mind a number of institutions that must provide a minimum amount of energy to ensure their activities, this can open new economic activities related to the production of equipment parts and hydrogen supply.
One niche of such systems are also mini-systems in remote and hard-to-reach places where it is not possible to easily and safely bring electricity. In a situation of strong development of digital systems, the potential of hydrogen as an energy carrier for these microsystems is particularly interesting.
The supply of military facilities is also a niche that has great potential in the further development of the hydrogen-based economy, especially since hydrogen can be a fuel for vehicles, and at the same time it can also be a reservoir for the production of electricity necessary to power buildings and systems in case of major crises.
An additional incentive for the use of hydrogen in reserve systems and energy tanks can be the possibility of decentralised production of renewable hydrogen that can be linked to individual localities and thus make them even less dependent on the usual logistics supply systems.
Education, research and development
Storage of the hydrogen must be safe, but human resources also must be prepared and well educated about this supply and how to deal with it.
It is necessary to educate and train people who will support the development of the hydrogen-based economy, both in the segment of research and commercialisation, and in the segment of using hydrogen systems as part of already existing processes (for example, in the construction industry, transport, etc.).
It is especially important when we talk about the safety of the system and possible negative consequences that can occur in systems that use hydrogen.
It is precisely the negative perception of public opinion that can greatly slow down the transition process, which at a time of strong, ambitious and accelerated decarbonisation can be the main reason for insufficient use of hydrogen in the economy and delays in the decarbonisation process.
Therefore, it is necessary to develop and promote other, significantly safer ways of storing hydrogen than under high pressure (for example, using metal hydrides).
