Welcome to the Safe Hydrogen Project Newsletter!

Safety must be at the heart of every hydrogen project—from concept to execution. The Safe Hydrogen Project, an initiative of the Compressed Gas Association (CGA), helps make that possible.

This initiative provides essential resources—from technical standards to safety best practices—so everyone working with hydrogen, whether seasoned professionals or newcomers, can navigate this fast-evolving field with confidence and care.

In this newsletter, you’ll find:

• The extensive list of standards under development by CGA
• Our latest hydrogen safety video
• Information on CGA's Hydrogen Membership
• CGA's latest e-learning module, Putting a Hydrogen Supply System Into and Out of Service 

Learn more about the Safe Hydrogen Project and how CGA’s standards drive innovation and safety in the hydrogen industry by visiting: safehydrogenproject.org

Standards Under Development

While the hydrogen economy is going through a shift here in the US and abroad, the need for standards remains. In fact, CGA has been developing hydrogen standards for more than 70 years. See the list below for the standards we are working on today.

Interested in helping develop these standards? Email us at hydrogen@cganet.com. 

• Hydrogen System Separation Distances (New!)

This publication provides methodologies for the evaluation of hydrogen supply system siting based on loss of containment that provides an acceptable level of safety for personnel, equipment, structures, and the public in scenarios that are not well addressed by existing regulations, codes, and standards.

• Safe Operation of H2/CO/Syngas Pipeline Systems (New!)

This publication provides guidelines for the safe operation and maintenance of industrial gas pipeline systems for gaseous hydrogen, carbon monoxide, and syngas (mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide). How hydrogen, carbon monoxide, and syngas impact the integrity management programs of industrial gas pipelines in the public domain is discussed herein.

This publication applies to both active (in service) pipelines and pipelines being considered for repurposing to hydrogen, carbon monoxide, or syngas service, addressing operations and maintenance guidelines with references to good design practices. Out of service or abandoned pipelines are not covered in this publication. However, the information contained in this publication may be applicable to those pipelines.

• Design of Bulk LH2 Loading and Unloading Connections (New!)

This publication provides liquid transfer bayonet connections for use with refrigerated liquid delivery and transport vehicles for both loading and unloading trailers and ISO containers. These connections are typically used in liquid hydrogen service. This publication also addresses the functional and safety requirements of these liquid connections as well as connection drawings.

• Safe Operation of Hydrogen Liquefier Cold Boxes (New!)

Cryogenic cold box enclosures in hydrogen liquefaction facilities can create potential process safety hazards. This publication identifies general hazards and provides guidance to reduce the feared event’s frequency of occurrence and/or their resulting consequences. It provides safety guidance and addresses design and operating practices as they affect safety. 

• Managing Oxygen Offtake from Electrolyzers (New!)

The safe design and operation of oxygen piping systems have been well documented through existing publications. Nonetheless, the advancement of electrolyzer technologies and their increased use to produce hydrogen requires a publication to highlight specific risks and the treatment of the oxygen streams that are a co-product of hydrogen producing electrolyzer units. This publication addresses only offtake oxygen from water electrolyzers. The scope includes the purification (e.g., drying and removal of excess hydrogen) and compression of the oxygen product stream. 

• Safe Operation of Electrolyzers (New!)

This publication focuses on the safety of electrolyzers' design, operation, and maintenance. While there are several types of electrolyzers, this publication will cover two types of electrolyzers: Alkaline Water Electrolysis (AWE) and proton exchange membrane (PEM). This publication will describe how PEM and AWE operate and their differences.

• G-5.5, Hydrogen Vent System Requirements (Revision)

This publication provides design guidelines for hydrogen vent systems used in gaseous and liquid hydrogen systems and provides recommendations for safe operation of these vents. It begins at the discharge port of safety devices and other components (operational venting) that control the release of hydrogen and ends at the point where hydrogen concentration in the atmosphere is below the lower flammable limits. 

• H-5, Standard For Bulk Hydrogen Supply Systems (Revision)

This standard contains minimum requirements for locating/siting, selecting equipment, installing, starting up, maintaining, and removing bulk hydrogen supply systems. 

This standard applies to hydrogen supply systems containing any of the following equipment:

• cryogenic hydrogen storage tank, either aboveground or belowground;
• gas storage vessels, either aboveground or belowground;  
• heat exchangers (including vaporizers);
• valves including manual and automatic shutoff valves, and check valves; 
• pressure control equipment including regulators and control valves;
• piping (pipe and tubing);
• cryogenic pumps;
• cryogenic and warm gas compressors;
• snubbers and pulsation dampeners; and
• monitoring and control systems including electrical and instrumentation. 

Discover CGA's Hydrogen Standards

The Hydrogen Safety Publication Search tool allows you to identify the operational standards published by CGA that best suit your needs. 

Visit our website to begin your search!