Hydrogen standards to guide Australia's future energy

Standards Australia has been working on developing hydrogen standards as Australia transitions to a low-carbon future, and has put forward the next steps for standards development and international participation in the hydrogen sector in a report.

Hydrogen has been recognised as a ‘clean’ energy source that has the potential to decarbonise, improve fuel security and create new investment opportunities. Standards Australia CEO Bronwyn Evans stated: “There is huge potential for hydrogen to succeed in the Australian context.”

As part of its work with CSIRO Futures and Hydrogen Mobility Australia (HMA), Standards Australia hosted a Hydrogen Standards Forum which invited a wide range of stakeholders from industry, government, regulators, consumers and academia to participate. This helped establish the necessary standards to ensure safety, efficiency and international compatibility as the hydrogen industry grows.

“Our stakeholder consultations focused on hydrogen production, storage, transportation and use cases to break down the different needs of the supply chain. We now have a clear set of recommendations to help us support the sector as it expands,” continued Evans.

The Hydrogen Standards Forum Outcomes Report mapped the outcomes from the forum and broke them down into short-, medium- and long-term recommendations. These included:

• prepare an international participation proposal in order to establish international participation on ISO/ TC 197 – Hydrogen Technologies by the end of 2018;
• prepare project proposals identifying all standards for adoption, and submit this proposal to Standards Australia for approval by July 2019; and
• identify any gaps in existing standards, and develop either new Australian Standards or International Standards to meet industry needs.

“As part of our role in supporting the establishment of a conducive environment for hydrogen and fuel cell technologies to thrive, we have identified that standards are one of the most important areas to assist the growth of this new sector,” said HMA CEO Claire Johnson. “We appreciate the opportunity to work with Standards Australia to leverage existing international hydrogen standards and create a safe and sustainable hydrogen sector in Australia.”

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