Blog: The Safety Aspect of Hydrogen as a Fuel

The need for an alternative sustainable energy carrier that could contribute to reducing CO2 emission arises due to significant concerns in fuel scarcity and global warming. Among many others, hydrogen is seen to potentially address these issues, resulting in its changing applications from a component in industrial processes to an energy vector. However, because this application is relatively new, the industry faces challenges in the implementation especially concerning its safety aspect. The optimal application of hydrogen as alternative energy can only happen if questions on its safety aspect have been answered. As we know, most of the available design guidelines and engineering tools are made for hydrocarbon processes and have not yet been fully adjusted to address hydrogen hazards. This fact shows that there are gaps in the knowledge preventing us to move forward. As a part of the “Hydrogen Safety Challenges for the Energy Transition” Panel Debate, we are interviewing the panellists to know their thoughts on hydrogen safety challenges before the event. Lee Phillips, Senior Technical Safety Engineer at Shell, has more than 25 years of experience within Shell’s Major Hazards group. He is currently supporting Shell Hydrogen business, where he has developed an internal R&D program to better understand hydrogen safety and support Shell’s energy transition program. Externally Lee sits on the advisory boards and steering committees of several multi-national Joint Industry Projects, including EU-funded projects. In this interview, Lee shares his insights on the knowledge gaps in hydrogen safety that need to be addressed to fully utilize it as an energy vector.