Licensing a Fuel Cell Bus and a

Hydrogen Fuelling Station in Brazil

Dr. Newton PimentaMSc. Cristiano Pinto

4th International Conference on Hydrogen Safety

ICHS 2011

12 - 14 September 2011

San Francisco, CA, USA

General Topics

Introduction

Main characteristics of the project

Licensing process (inflammable products)

Fuel Cell Bus and Hydrogen Fueling Station licenses

Closing remarks

Hydrogen Lab at Unicamp&Brazilian Reference Center for Hydrogen Energy

The information contained in this presentation is of exclusive responsibility of

the authors and do not represent the view of the consortium, private companies and

public organizations mentioned.

Introduction

EMTU/SP Hydrogen Bus History and Basic Facts

The first Brazilian fuel cell bus

Initiative of the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME) and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) by means of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in 1999

Project carried out by an international consortium comprising several national and international partners

The program execution is under responsibility of EMTU/SP, which also controls the operation of the buses and bus routes

Introduction

International consortium:

MME

FINEP

UNDP/GEF

EMTU/SP

The Government of São Paulo State

EPRI International

Nucellsys

Ballard Power Systems

Marcopolo

Tuttotrasporti

Petrobras Distribuidora

AES Eletropaulo

Hydrogenics

Introduction

UNDP

Main characteristics of the project

1 bus in operation

3 buses in acquisition process

30 until FIFA’s World Cup

Hydrogen production and fueling station (back view)

Main characteristics of the project

Hybrid hydrogen fuel cell bus

Low-floor

12.6 m vehicle

90 passengers

Two 68 kW PEMFCs

Batteries (molten sodium aluminumchloride)

210 kW motor

9 composite cylinders for up to 45 kg of hydrogen @ 350 bar

Range ~300 km

Operating at a bus corridor in Sao Paulo metropolitan area

Main characteristics of the project

Hydrogen production: electrolysis ~60m3/h H2

Gas compressed up to 430 bar

Six stainless steel cylinders totaling 72 kg H2

Modular station with possibility of expansion

Licensing process (inflammable products)

Brazilian companies need a variety of operating licenses and permits (municipal, state and federal)

The main licenses required for companies that store inflammable materials are provided by:

Fire Department of each state (FD/SP)

State environmental protection agencies (São Paulo Environmental Protection Agency - CETESB/SP)

Complexity for such permits depends on:

State regulations

Amounts of inflammable materials and their energy densities

Licensing process (inflammable products)

Permits required for fuel stations and distributors of liquid and gaseous fuels (CNG and LPG)

CNG is in use since 1997 and very few accidents occurred (mostly caused by users who attempted to illegally install home LPG cylinders in the vehicles)

There are over 1,800 CNG fuel stations and 1.66 million vehicles running on CNG (200 bar)

Chemical, petrochemical and gas companies in Brazil have operational licenses to handle tons of hydrogen and other inflammable products daily

Licensing process (inflammable products)

Despite the similarity between natural gas and hydrogen, in the authors’ opinion, the first commercial project involving a fleet of buses and a hydrogen fueling station apparently caused great concern in the licensing authorities

This concern may be attributed to the fact that Brazilian experts share the opinion that accidents with hydrogen should be avoided at all costs

Otherwise the barriers to the use of hydrogen as a fuel would become almost insuperable

Licensing – Fire Department

Concerns safety conditions of commercial andindustrial facilities against fire

Preservation of property, environment and people’s lives, mainly within the boundaries of the company

FD/SP relies on its own 38 Technical Instructions (TI), concerning norms of the Brazilian Association for Technical Standards (ABNT NBR) and Regulation Norms (NR)

FD in other states may present diverse requests in order to issue permits and licenses

International publications and standards were applied as well, such as the NPFA 497 and NFPA 55

Licensing – CETESB

Focus on protecting the environment and the livesoutside the boundaries of a company

Procedures aim to quantitatively assess the risks related to emissions of gaseous and liquids which may be harmful to the environment and health of the population, including cases of improper release of fuels and explosion risks associated

Location of fueling stations is mainly determined by municipal zone plans. Hydrogen fueling stations may follow the same permitting process of CNG stations

Further information is available in the paper #198 “Hydrogen Risk Assessment in Sao Paulo State – Brazil” (ICHS 2011)

Fuel cell bus licenses

FCB operating licenses were obtained from three different organizations:

IBAMA (The Brazilian Institute of Environment and Natural Resources): environmental license which consisted of a permit for an electric vehicle powered by fuel cells

DENATRAN (National Road Transportation Department):

Registration of all vehicles in Brazil responsible for the transit permit for the bus (all relevant characteristics of the FCB had to be informed)

FCB exempted of the Certificate of Conformity to the Transit Code (CAT) because it is considered a prototype vehicle

DETRAN/SP (São Paulo State Transportation Department): local registration of the vehicle, its license plates and documentation

Safety of the Hydrogen Fueling Station

Official visits to hydrogen fueling stations in Hamburg and Amsterdam

Accomplishment of a HAZOP (Hazard and Operability Analysis)

Knowledge acquired during the technical visits and HAZOP lead to a PHA (Preliminary Hazard Analysis) carried out by Petrobras (CENPES & BR Distribuidora) and Hydrogenics

PHA resulted in 16 recommendations to mitigate risks related to the operation of the hydrogen station

Safety of the Hydrogen Fueling Station

PHA recommendations:

Hydrogen pipelines are installed in channels on the ground covered by gratings to avoid gas accumulation and facilitate inspection

A tray was installed under the electrolyser module to collect any possible liquid leakages (KOH)

Fireproof walls isolate the hydrogen production area (water electrolysis system, compressor and storage vessels) from the rest of the facility (dispenser and administrative building)

The classification of areas was accomplished according toNFPA 497-2008

The minimum distances were determined according toNPFA 55-2010

Safety of the Hydrogen Fueling Station

PHA recommendations:

Hydrogen storage cylinders are permanently connected to two pressure safety valves (PSV) which could not be closed simultaneously. The flow through the PSV is sufficient to attend all the cylinders connected to it

An important contribution regarding safety was the development of specific procedures for the FD/SP to attend emergencies involving the hydrogen fuel cell bus

The amount of hydrogen stored in the fuel station (72 kg) represent a Reference Distance (RD) of 34 m (see paper #198_Hydrogen Risk Assessment in Sao Paulo State - Brazil at ICHS 2011)

Final Remarks

Lack of specific standards for hydrogen in Brazil introduced some difficulties, but it did not obstruct the work (strict and conservative licensing)

The experience in licensing CNG stations and vehicles may be explored

There is space for work and improvement

Cooperation between companies and governmental agencies produced positive results

International cooperation is essential to accelerate the development of hydrogen technologies

Thank you! Obrigado!

Brazilian Reference Centerfor Hydrogen Energy

Hydrogen Laboratoryat Unicamp

Contact:Newton Pimenta

nevesjr@ifi.unicamp.br