WP 2

Hydrogen quality assurance

In anticipation of a growing hydrogen economy, EU Directive 2014/94/EU on the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure was written in 2014 to introduce strict regulations by the end of 2017. The fuel cell system in a hydrogen vehicle can easily degrade if even parts-per-billion to parts-per-million level of some impurities are present in the hydrogen. EU Directive 2014/94/EU will therefore include a requirement to ensure that hydrogen supplied to fuel cell vehicles complies with the purity specifications in ISO 14687. Although it is imperative that this regulation is enforced, no accredited laboratory in the world can traceably perform the complete range of hydrogen purity measurements specified in ISO 14687. If these methods and measurement capabilities are not developed over the next few years, the hydrogen industry could face problems as they would not be able to evidence compliance to ISO 14687. Failing to do this will mean that the refuelling station cannot provide sufficient proof that the hydrogen they provide conforms to EU Directive 2014/94/EU and therefore they may not be allowed to supply hydrogen to a fuel cell vehicle.