IEC TC 105: Fuel Cell Technologies Update
by Karen Hall
Vice President, Technical Operations of the
National Hydrogen Association

The 5th Plenary meeting of International Electrotechnical Commission Technical Committee 105 (IEC TC 105) was held in Tokyo, Japan, on June 24th and 25th 2004.

The following is a summary of Working Group (WG) activity:

WG 1 “Terminology”
Approved, in publication process.
Project: IEC 62282-1 TR Ed. 1.0
WG 1 held a meeting prior to the plenary meeting on Wednesday (23 June) to discuss the comments received. The result of voting on 105/64/DTS including the comments will be circulated in July. As soon as the clean English version of the paper is available, it will be forwarded to the secretary who will ask the French national committee for a translation. Both the English and the French version will go to the IEC Central Office for publication. After publication, the status of WG 1 will change to: “maintenance committee.” A permanent update of this Technical Report is possible. Via the IEC fast track procedure, publication is ensured within a maximum period of 24 months.

WG 2 “Fuel cell modules”
Final Draft International Standard (FDIS) Approved, in publication process.
Project: IEC 62282-2 Ed. 1.0
WG2 has held a meeting prior to the plenary meeting on Wednesday (23 June) to discuss the comments received. As soon as the FDIS has been published as an International Standard (IS), WG2 will draft an amendment to the IS taking into account the technical comments received.

WG 3 “Stationary fuel cell power plants – safety”
Draft completed, out for public comment by national committees
Project: IEC 62282-3-1 Ed. 1.0
The project IEC 62282-3-1 Ed. 1.0 has been cancelled by the IEC SMB, because a Committee Draft (CD) could not be submitted within 3 years after the initiation of the project. The main reason for the delay has been the complexity of the task.

Further proceedings: Project leader, Mr. Kelvin Hecht, will submit a draft to the secretary within July 2004. This draft will be attached to a New Work Item Proposal (NWIP) as a CD.

WG4 “Performance of Fuel Cell Power Plants”
Approved, in publication process.
Project: IEC 62282-3-2 Ed. 1.0
The French version will be available at the beginning of July. Then both the English and the French version will be forwarded to the IEC Central Office for editing and publication as FDIS thereafter. In addition, the comments received on the CDV, along with the observations of the secretariat, will be sent to the IEC Central Office for circulation to the national committees as an RVC.

WG5 “Stationary Fuel Cell Power Plants - Installation” –
Reorganized, new chairman, NFPA 853 approved as seed document, to meet in Munich 10/25-27.
Project: IEC 62282-3-3 Ed. 1.0
Very little progress has been made in the working group so far. The represented countries have agreed that this situation is unsatisfactory and have decided to change the project leader. By unanimous decision Mr. Gerhard Huppmann has been appointed as the new project leader replacing Mr. Andrew Skok. The secretary will request in his report to the SMB that in the program of work the target date of the 1st CD will be changed to June 2007.

Proposal by The Netherlands: ISO/TC197 wants to establish a working group dealing with installation requirements for fuel processors. A joint working group (JWG) between TC105 and ISO/TC197 dealing with installation requirements should be taken into consideration.

Decision: The Netherlands will propose in next week’s ISO/TC197 plenary meeting to set up a JWG. If ISO/TC197 agrees upon the proposal by TC105, the creation of an IEC/ISO Joint Working Group will be brought to the attention of the management boards of IEC and ISO. The two committees will have to agree on the organization that takes leadership of the joint project.

WG 6 “Fuel cell system for propulsion and auxiliary power units (APU)”
The activities of WG 6 have been suspended. Andreas Piepereit will watch what is going on at ISO/TC22/SC21 and brief TC 105.

WG 7 “Portable fuel cell appliances - Safety and performance requirements”
Draft in progress.

Project: IEC 62282-5 Ed. 1.0
WG 7 held a meeting prior to the plenary meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday (22-23 June) to discuss the comments received, and modify the CD as considered to be appropriate. The comments received on the CD, along with the observations of the secretariat, will be sent to the IEC Central Office for circulation to the national committees as a CC in July 2004. By November, the revised document will be sent to the IEC Central Office for circulation to the national committees as a CDV.

WG 8 “Fuel cell technologies - Part 6-1: Micro fuel cell power systems - Safety”
To meet in Northbrook, IL 9/20-24.
Project: IEC 62282-6-1 Ed. 1.0

WG 9 “Fuel cell technologies - Part 6-2: Micro fuel cell power systems - Performance”
To meet in Northbrook, IL 9/20-24.
Project: IEC 62282-6-2 Ed. 1.0
The NWIP has been accepted, therefore ad hoc WG 9 changes to WG9.

WG 10 (ad hoc ) “Interchangeability”
To meet in Northbrook, IL 9/20-24.
Project: IEC 62282-6-3 Ed. 1.0

Up to date information on IEC TC 105 activities can be found at www.fuelcellstandards.com.