Hydrogen processing requires safety expertise – Elomatic’s strength lies in its extensive experience within the process industry
In hydrogen projects, safety planning is taken into account right from the very first stages of design. Designing for safety requires a diverse understanding of chemical and physical processes.
Hydrogen is already being processed in industry, but in the next few years we will see a change in scale that will also affect safety. For example, the number of hydrogen production plants and the storage volumes of hydrogen will increase, which will inevitably affect safety and its planning.
Whenever hydrogen is processed in an industrial plant, the safety of the processes must be planned very carefully. Hydrogen is a highly flammable gas, and its handling always requires special attention and precision. Hydrogen leaks and ignites easily, and it may cause material embrittlement.
Technical safety in hydrogen projects is related to explosion safety and its management, chemical, environmental, and occupational safety, the specific safety requirements of equipment and machinery, as well as material choices.
Leading the way in hydrogen safety
Due to the characteristics of hydrogen, there are dozens of different legal provisions to follow. Planning of safety areas for the different phases of the plant, during the construction, commissioning and operation phases, starts right at the beginning of the project together with other design disciplines.
Elomatic’s experts have gained hands-on experience in hydrogen safety design through the Green North Energy ammonia plant design project.
The planning of the green ammonia production plant involves a lot of safety planning typical of the hydrogen economy. We carried out several consequence analyses in which we modelled the impact of accident scenarios on the environment. At that time, the guidelines of the Finnish Safety and Chemicals Agency (TUKES) did not yet exist. We were active in the early stages of the project’s safety planning, and TUKES commented on our views.
Mia Manninen, Consulting Engineer, Elomatic
In 2024, TUKES’s Safety of hydrogen handling and storage -guide was created for the entire sector, which enables all actors in the hydrogen economy to take into account the special characteristics of the hydrogen economy in their safety planning.
Safety starts at the design table
The safety planning of hydrogen projects begins with risk analyses. Hydrogen projects are subject to chemicals legislation, which means that the requirements for safety and protection are more extensive than those of many other industrial processes. Elomatic has Finland’s most extensive technical calculation department, whose expertise is utilized in various industries and in addition to customer assignments, also in the development of Elomatic’s own marine industry products. According to Mia Manninen, Elomatic has extensive industrial experience in modelling and computation.
“When determining consequence analyses, we identify the root causes of potential accidents in risk analyses and model the possible consequences.”
Safety and other planning of the project go hand in hand from procurement to construction, installation, and operation phases. Safety cannot be added on top afterward.
Different accident scenarios can be simulated using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to ensure that the designs meet required safety standards.
“Once the equipment and other materials have been selected, the procurement ensures that everything is in accordance with the design and order, and in the end, it is ensured that the equipment is installed as planned,” Manninen describes.
The customer’s previous experience and skills determine how much information and guidance is needed. A customer in the process industry is already familiar with the operating environment, on the other hand, a project developer in the green transition may be faced with completely new processes. New developers may not understand the dangers of chemicals and the requirements that arise from the handling and storage of chemicals.
Safety specifications must always be made carefully and from the beginning. In some projects, we are involved in the entire life cycle of the plant, starting from design and after commissioning.
Eero Rauvola, Project Manager, Elomatic
In addition to customer requirements, there may also be different requirements for safety within the EU.
“Within the EU, guidance on the safety of hydrogen projects comes through EU directives. In addition, each country has its own legislation and national policies. Climate conditions also play a role. For example, when it comes to material choices, northern conditions may set their own requirements. Serviceability and operability must be guaranteed all year round, regardless of the weather,” Rauvola describes.
From deployment to lifecycle management
An important step in ensuring safety is commissioning. It is a unique step in the middle ground between construction, installation and operation. When the factory is in use, the processes are repetitive, but they are implemented for the first time during commissioning.
The operational safety of the industrial plant is defined already at the design stage. When the plant is in operational use, operational matters, such as work instructions and the management system, take care of safety topics. Good safety planning ensures reliable operation.
Elomatic’s own product family uses a digital twin design model, which can be used to promote the maintenance of the plant throughout its life cycle already in the design phase.
The digital twin is also an excellent aid in the training of the plant’s employees. With it, we can train personnel in the operation of the device and, for example, in the safe dismantling of a device during maintenance measures.
Mia Manninen, Consulting Engineer, Elomatic
Acceptability and interaction in hydrogen projects
Location has always been a key factor in the design of an industrial plant. The aim is to utilize old industrial areas in the location, but hydrogen projects must pay particular attention to other surrounding industry and its special characteristics. The acceptability of the project is helped by being in an area where there is already industry.
“We have extensive experience in the process industry and understand the risks that the introduction of a hydrogen project may cause to other industrial plants and their operations in the area in question. Information about the project is available to anyone, which increases the acceptability of the project,” Eero Rauvola emphasizes.
Honesty and openness help when it comes to new technology that neighbours and other stakeholders have no experience of. When there are many opinions, sharing facts and information is essential.
It is important that we are able to demonstrate the safety of the plant and the factors affecting it with facts, calculations and analyses, and that we are also able to communicate it to different stakeholders. We want to show that safety has been taken into account in every possible way from the beginning.
Mia Manninen, Consulting Engineer, Elomatic
Safety is not just a matter that increases costs. At Elomatic, safety is understood as a key part of plant design.
“Safety is not just a matter of increasing costs. A safe plant is a functioning plant, and a functioning plant is a productive plant”, Rauvola sums up.
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Kari Räsänen
Vice President, Power-to-X & Hydrogen Business
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