DOE Education Planning Includes Codes and Standards
by Karen Hall
Vice President, Technical Operations of the
National Hydrogen Association

On December 4 & 5, the Department of Energy sponsored a workshop in Crystal City, Virginia to begin to develop a five-year plan for hydrogen education.

The workshop proceedings are expected to be available soon at www.eren.doe.gov/hydrogen.

The overall objective of the Education Program is to educate target audiences about the long-term benefits and near-term realities of hydrogen, fuel cell systems, and related infrastructure.

The overall goal of the Education Program, excerpted from the draft proceedings, prepared by Sentech, Inc., is to:

... achieve among key audiences a level of understanding about fuel cell and hydrogen systems that can facilitate the commercialization and market acceptance of those technologies. If successful, the target audiences should be able to express the value of a hydrogen economy, recognize the near-term realities and opportunities of hydrogen and fuel cell technology, and understand, where appropriate, their part in facilitating the transition to the Hydrogen Age.

Specific goals of the Education Program include the following:

• Educate key stakeholders (see section VII of the plan) who are essential to successful commercialization of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies, and increase the teaching of curriculum including fuel cells and hydrogen technologies at all educational levels.
  
  
• Encourage local and regional hydrogen and fuel cell education initiatives and strategic partnerships with industry, government agencies, professional/trade organizations, and foundations to leverage resources in order to increase the reach, scale, and effect of education efforts.
  
  
• Build a sustainable network of businesses, environmental organizations, and educational institutions with appropriate support at the national level, and with linkages to existing institutions, to accelerate the U.S. economy toward hydrogen.

The workshop included four breakout sessions that were based on the key audiences identified in the draft education plan:

• Code Writing Organizations and National Regulatory Agencies
• State and Local Decision Makers and the General Public
• Professional/Trade Organizations, Large-Scale End Users, and Financial Institutions
• Educators and Students

Each breakout group was charged with identifying specific key education actions that DOE should support and setting priorities for activities to reach the target audiences critical to realizing the hydrogen economy. Excerpts from the draft proceedings follow.

Code Writing Organizations and National Regulatory Agencies

Target Audiences identified:

• FIRE (Financial, Insurance, and Real Estate Companies)
• Code Officials
• Fire Marshals
• Zoning Officials
• Maintenance Repair Technicians
• Other Programs/Agencies (DOT, FEMP, EPA, FERC, OSHA, MSHA, Clean Cities, Buildings, within DOE, etc...)
• Trade Groups/Associations (Contractors, A&E Industry, NCSL, NARUC, NASEO, STAPPA/ALAPCO)
• OEMs
• OEM Technical Input (FCC, NHA, AIM)
• IEA
• UN GRPE
• PUCs
• NESCAM
• State Legislatures
• NGA
• ABA
• APA
• SDOs (Standards Development Organizations – SAE, ASME, IEEE, ISO, UL)
• CDOs (Code Development Organizations)
• Technical Associations (AIA, AICHE, ASCE)

Barriers/Challenges:

• Excess/disorganized information
• Jurisdictional issues
• Resource availability
• Availability of hydrogen & fuel cell data
• Perception of hydrogen as unsafe
• Lack of clear message articulating “Why Hydrogen”

Needs:

• Readily available, clearly defined, consistent information – very important to have consistent, readily available information on current (and pending) codes and standards for reference purposes.
  
  
• Awareness of jurisdictional issues – in order to facilitate this awareness, the group proposed federal agency activities in education on the status of technology and activities to address Standard Development Organizations (SDOs) and state vs. local adoption concerns.
  
  
• Minimize the impact of resource availability – a method must be developed to address competing priorities and the allocation of limited local resources. This includes:
  
  
  • Funding
  
  
  • Access to hydrogen & fuel cell information (develop websites, education contacts, tools/videos)
  
  
  • Access to Codes & Standards – existing and in development
  
  
• Increased availability of hydrogen & fuel cell data addressing:



• Operating experience


• Cost



• “Failures”
  
  
• Open vs. intellectual property schemes



• Establishment of an accurate perception of hydrogen safety



• Development of a Safety Plan for each RD&D project



• Development of a clear message articulating the reason for switching to hydrogen & fuel cells.