Results of the Pre-Normative Research Project PRESLHY for the Safe Use of Liquid Hydrogen

Abstract : Liquid hydrogen (LH2) compared to compressed gaseous hydrogen offers advantages for large-scale transport and storage of hydrogen with higher densities. Although the gas industry has good experience with LH2 only little experience is available for the new applications of LH2 as an energy carrier. Therefore, the European FCH JU funded project PRESLHY conducted pre-normative research for the safe use of cryogenic LH2 in non-industrial settings. The central research consisted of a broad experimental program, combined with analytical work, modelling and simulations belonging to the three key phenomena of the accident chain: release and mixing, ignition and combustion. The presented results improve the general understanding of the behavior of LH2 in accidents and provide some design guidelines and engineering tools for safer use of LH2. Recommendations for improvement of current international standards are derived.