Structural safety guidelines for accidental hydrogen explosion hazards

R&D Focus Areas:
Safety and standards, Computational modelling

Lead Organisation:
University of Wollongong

Partners:
University of New South Wales (Canberra)

Status:
Active

Start date:
July 2023

Completion date:
Estimated December 2026

Key contacts:
Lead Investigator Professor Alex Remennikov – alexrem@uow.edu.au
Dr Damith Mohotti –   d.mohotti@unsw.edu.au

Funding:
AUD$388,816 – Australian Research Council

Project total cost:
AUD$699,113 – combined cash and in-kind contributions

Project summary description:
Hydrogen has a major role to play in the transition to a clean, secure energy future, and Australia has the potential to become a key global player in clean hydrogen technology. While Australia is already in a position to produce hydrogen at a commercial scale, it is a highly flammable gas and can cause fires and explosions if not handled properly.

This project plays a critical, but often overlooked, role in transforming Australia’s hydrogen plan, by accurately and scientifically characterising hazard impacts on infrastructure due to accidental hydrogen explosions.

This research will develop new fundamental knowledge of hydrogen explosion characteristics to enable safe usage of hydrogen technology in vehicles, storage and transportation systems for accelerated acceptance of green hydrogen as a future energy carrier.

The outcomes will be shared with Standards Australia Committee for Hydrogen Technologies in supporting the development of national standards thus bolstering consumer confidence in the adoption of hydrogen technologies.

Related publications and key links:
No publications yet.

Higher degree studies supported:
A PhD student started in August 2023. Thesis topic: “Development of methodology for predicting loads on infrastructure due to hydrogen gas explosion accidents.”

 

Reviewed: May 2023