Research Significance
Hydrogen can be fully clean when produced through green energies, while it can also be used to store energy from renewable sources.
In order to be sustainable, hydrogen must be safe and reliably accessible, both technologically and financially. Between the challenges posed by the chemical characteristics of hydrogen (e.g., flammability) and the added technical and financial uncertainties brought by the integration of hybrid renewable-energy resources in the hydrogen production process, there are still certain impediments to be addressed before the widespread deployment of hydrogen technologies.
Moreover, going beyond the technical challenges of the new hybrid renewable-energy-powered (HREP) hydrogen model, it is equally important to understand human behaviours in this emerging context. Not only from the standpoint of industries with regard to operational safety and reliable protection and management mechanisms, but also from the perspective of communities, considering their perceptions, technology acceptance and disaster preparedness.
In this context, interdisciplinary and risk-based approaches are expected to help minimise the uncertainties concerning HREP hydrogen production and fuelling stations, while ensuring safety, sustainability and efficiency. Moving forward, a new risk-based philosophy and framework to integrate our understanding, analysis and reduction methods for various types of risks is needed in order to enable the development of clean hydrogen technologies towards a more sustainable future.
Scientific Excellence
The scientific excellence of SUSHy Project lies in the increasing relevance and accuracy of systems models when dealing with the uncertainties brought by hybrid energy resources and other complexities considering the operational stability, safety, and sustainability of HREP hydrogen fuelling stations. The methodologies to be developed by the project can assist organisations with reviewing an updating their strategic decision-making processes concerning the investment and management of hydrogen energy worldwide.
SUSHy Project’s innovative pursuit is twofold. First, we are proposing and developing a novel, risk-based, multi-disciplinary approach (RMDA), which can serve as a decision-making support tool to identify and minimise the uncertainties currently impeding the widespread use of hydrogen technologies. Second, we intend to employ pioneering, state-of-the-art tools for the purposes of improving the efficiency of HREP hydrogen stations and enabling their proliferation for commercial use.
The development of the novel RMDA framework entails the selection, adjustment and integration of fragmented methodologies for uncertainty and risk identification, analysis, prediction and evaluation, with findings for hazardous scenarios, risk factors and accident prevention and mitigation measures. The framework is designed to incorporate seamlessly technical expertise, operational, societal and financial analysis with the aim of enabling, advancing and evaluating other hydrogen technologies and projects.
Project Objectives
Synergistic Collaboration on H₂ Technologies
Our overall goal through SUSHy Project is to strengthen the cooperation between European and Japanese partners in the sustainability development of hydrogen technologies, create possibilities that go beyond what each of the countries can achieve alone, and provide outcomes of greater value for citizens.
The specific objectives include:
- Promote the transnational mobility between European and Japanese researchers in the field of HREP hydrogen technologies;
- Develop an extended, high-quality research network of infrastructures and resources on HREP hydrogen technologies;
- Share best practices, exchange lessons and compare data; and
- Create new knowledge that can be tailored for different countries, and contribute to research-based policymaking.
Advancing Knowledge on H₂ Technologies
Our main research objective is to develop a risk-based philosophy and a new integrated approach to minimise overall uncertainties, enhance safety, promote public acceptance and ensure the economic viability of HREP hydrogen production and fuelling stations.
This objective can then be specified as:
- Expand our understanding on the uncertainties, typical and atypical losses, and related risk reduction measures in HREP hydrogen stations;
- Verify approaches for integrated sustainability assessment for HREP hydrogen technologies under uncertainties considering the economic, environmental, and social perspectives;
- Improve the feasibility and efficiency of HREP hydrogen storage and hydrogen production technologies through expanding infrastructure availability and minimising development costs;
- Raise awareness about the short- and long-term positive impact of hydrogen technologies, and address community concerns related to safety and environmental degradation; and
- Establish a decision-making support framework for investment, design, operation, and management of HREP hydrogen fuelling stations.