- Gas storage containers - official tasks and research focus of BAM
- Gas storage containers - departmental advice and legal development
- Digitalisation of quality infrastructure of hydrogen refuelling stations
This competence field looks at the safety-related properties of components and systems for hydrogen technologies. Component testing, taking into account ageing mechanisms with regard to component integrity and service life, also under dynamic load profiles, plays an essential role. BAM has special expertise in the field of hydrogen storage, from the characterisation of micro-cracks to the testing of accident loads and the statistical evaluation of failure probability to structural health monitoring. Application cases here are, for example, the transport of hazardous goods, hydrogen vehicles or a hydrogen filling station with green hydrogen production.
Gas storage containers - official tasks and research focus of BAM
Hydrogen is currently stored mainly in gaseous form and, for weight reasons, mostly in pressure vessels made of fibre composites. To achieve the highest possible storage densities, which are necessary for long ranges of hydrogen vehicles, the hydrogen is usually stored under very high pressures.
Pressure vessels must be designed in such a way that they can safely withstand the diverse stresses that can occur during their operating life. For this purpose, pressure vessels must be subjected to elaborate tests before their first use and later during operation. In addition to internal pressure loads at very high and low temperatures, these also include fire or drop tests, acid tests or puncture tests. The aim is to ensure that the containers remain safe even under maximum operating loads and that no hazardous situations occur.
Gas storage containers - departmental advice and legal development
The aspects of safe storage of gaseous energy carriers such as propane/butane, natural gas/biogas or hydrogen affect everyday life and public-technical safety more often than one might perceive at first glance. This ranges from the local approval of the operation of accident-relevant plants to the regional approval of corresponding vehicles to the worldwide transport of hazardous goods.
The associated rules and the organisations under whose umbrella the work on these legal and technical standards takes place are correspondingly diverse. The United Nations (UN) plays a central role here with regard to the safety of pressure vessels during transport and storage. In addition, there are specific regulations such as the ADR (European Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road). All this is accompanied and supported by standardisation work, some of which takes place on behalf of the Federal Government and is then additionally mirrored in national bodies.
Digitalisation of quality infrastructure of hydrogen refuelling stations
An essential factor for the broad acceptance of hydrogen-based mobility is the availability of filling stations that operate reliably, safely and efficiently. A digital quality infrastructure and modern monitoring concepts increase the safety and reliability of hydrogen refuelling stations while at the same time improving economic efficiency.
In a pilot project, we are setting up a hydrogen filling station as a living laboratory. Representing the overall system of a hydrogen infrastructure with special requirements for safety and quality, we are developing digital solutions for the quality infrastructure of the future.