Hazard and Operability Analysis for Operating, Refueling, and Maintenance of Fuel Cell Electric Buses
- Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
Since hydrogen vehicles can be implemented in heavy-duty transportation applications such as buses, it is important to understand safety hazards and risks of hydrogen fuel cell electric bus (FCEB) and refueling technology. We conducted a hazard and operability analysis for FCEB operation/driving, refueling, and maintenance/inspection. We identified failure modes and consequences and defined a qualitative risk metric as the product of the likelihood of a failure and the severity of the worst-case consequence, ranked ordinally. We assigned risk ratings to failures to provide a qualitative comparison. Component wear, faulty monitoring equipment, and procedural errors were found to be high-priority hazards due to the possibility of hydrogen release and ignition. Safeguards like regular inspection and maintenance of equipment and facilities, procedural documentation and operator training, and implementation of monitoring equipment redundancies were recommended. These outcomes can facilitate safe development, adoption, and operation of FCEBs and identify key research areas.
- Research Organization:
- Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Office of Sustainable Transportation and Fuels. Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office (HFTO)
- DOE Contract Number:
- NA0003525
- OSTI ID:
- 2588295
- Report Number(s):
- SAND--2025-10986; 1784289
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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