The HyLOCD project aims to do research and development of a hydrogen loss of containment detection method for maritime fuel cell systems. The HyLOCD project will develop models for hydrogen behavior in the whole fuel cell system including the delivery system. Experimental results of hydrogen behavior in a real fuel cell system will be produced and used for validation of the developed models. The detection method will be developed from industrial research and use of the developed models. The method will form the basis for mitigation strategy for loss of containment and safety philosophy for the system. The HyLOCD project is part of the H2NOR project aiming to commercialize large scale modular maritime fuel cell systems.
The project started October 1st 2021 and has mobilized resources and performed a kickoff.
There are three main innovations in H2NOR which will be realized in the project: 1) maritime fuel cell (FC) systems developed for scalable production and deployment, 2) a combined fuel cell and battery management system (FCBMS), and 3) inline real time detection of hydrogen loss of containment (HyLOCD).
Safety management is an integral part of hydrogen fuel cells. The research proposed and applied funding for in HyLOCD will directly impact both the physical design and the FCBMS. Sensor placement, knowledge about hydrogen behavior, barrier strategies, are factors which will impact the product design and ultimately the ability to deploy at scale in the industry. The industrial research proposed in this project will lead to safer maritime hydrogen fuel cell systems. The innovation in HyLOCD is a safety system for maritime fuel cells where the loss of containment of hydrogen from the system will be detected by inline sensors. This innovation will lead to earlier detection of potential leaks and knowledge of leak position to facilitate a better and safer system response. A product of the research project is a mathematical system model that can be used for system optimization for specific load profiles during design and operation.