Best Practices in Hydrogen Fueling and Maintenance Facilities for Transit Agencies

BEST PRACTICES IN HYDROGEN FUELING AND MAINTENANCE FACILITIES FOR TRANSIT AGENCIES Consultant Report December 2016 1 Table of Contents List of Figures .......................................................................................................................... 4 List of Tables ............................................................................................................................ 5 List of Abbreviations ............................................................................................................... 6 Acknowledgments ................................................................................................................... 7 Abstract .................................................................................................................................... 8 Executive Summary ................................................................................................................. 9 Document Purpose and Overview of the National Fuel Cell Bus Program .........................11 Background ..........................................................................................................................11 The FTA National Fuel Cell Bus Program .............................................................................11 Generation or Delivery of the Fuel ........................................................................................12 Options for Equipment and Site Design for Hydrogen Refueling Facilities ........................14 Time Fill vs Fast Fill ..............................................................................................................14 Background ..........................................................................................................................14 Fueling Workflow ..................................................................................................................14 Equipment ............................................................................................................................14 Connectors ...........................................................................................................................16 Advantages ..........................................................................................................................16 Fill Temperature ...................................................................................................................17 Dual Use Public/Private Transit and Light Duty Vehicle Stations ..........................................17 General ................................................................................................................................17 Station Equipment Ownership and Fuel Sales ......................................................................18 Permits, Codes, Setbacks, and Standards ............................................................................19 Why be concerned with codes and standards?.....................................................................19 Definitions ............................................................................................................................19 Importance of Standards ......................................................................................................19 Standard Development Organizations Involved in Fueling Stations ......................................20 Progress on Hydrogen Standards ........................................................................................20 Observations ........................................................................................................................21 Separation Distances for Hydrogen Station Components .....................................................21 Bus/Refueling Operations and Economics ...........................................................................23 Infrastructure Economics and Costs .....................................................................................23 Equipment Required vs. Fleet Size.......................................................................................23 Fueling Station Capital Cost .................................................................................................24 Operating and Maintenance Costs .......................................................................................26 Cost of Hydrogen Delivery vs Generation .............................................................................27 Additional Considerations .....................................................................................................28 Fueling Protocols and Specifications for Bus Manufacturers and H2 Storage Tank Suppliers .................................................................................................................................29 Fueling Standard ..................................................................................................................29 Bus Specifications ................................................................................................................31 Fuel Cell Bus Maintenance Facilities .....................................................................................33 2 Background on the Properties of Hydrogen and Fuel Safety ................................................33 Properties of Hydrogen .........................................................................................................33 Liquid Hydrogen ...................................................................................................................34 Maintenance Facilities ..........................................................................................................35 Maintenance Garage or Barn ...............................................................................................35 Refueling Islands and Canopies ...........................................................................................36 Safety Systems – Hazard Analysis .......................................................................................37 Safety Systems – Procedures ..............................................................................................37 Safety Systems – Maintenance ............................................................................................37 Safety Systems – Management of Change ...........................................................................38 Safety Systems – Safety Culture ..........................................................................................39 Communications ...................................................................................................................39 Fuel Cell Infrastructure Case Study .......................................................................................41 AC Transit ............................................................................................................................41 Emeryville .............................................................................................................................41 Directory of Infrastructure Equipment Providers .................................................................44 Hydrogen Production ............................................................................................................44 Station Components .............................................................................................................45 Full Stations ........................................................................................................................45 References ..............................................................................................................................54 Compendium of Buses in the National Fuel Cell Bus Program ...........................................48 Existing Buses ......................................................................................................................48 Near-Term Future Buses ......................................................................................................51 3 List of Figures Figure 2-1 Example Time Fill Configuration ..............................................................................15 Figure 2-2 Example Fast Fill Configuration ...............................................................................16 Figure 2-3 Normal Rate Fueling Nozzle from OPW and Fast Fueling Nozzle from WEH ...........16 Figure 2-4 CNG Application of Time Fill at an Alagasco Site Hydrogen Fill at a Bus Fueling Station ......................................................................................................................................17 Figure 3-1 Examples of Component Standards .........................................................................20 Figure 3-2 NFPA 2 Separation Distances for 350 Bar Hydrogen Equipment with 0.288” ID Tubing .......................................................................................................................................21 Figure 3-3 NFPA 2 Separation Distances for Liquid Hydrogen (3,501-15,000gal) .....................22 Figure 3-4 Example Transit Bus Fueling Station Configuration .................................................22 Figure 4-1 Fixed Operating Costs for Hydrogen Stations ..........................................................27 Figure 5-1 Example of a Vehicle Communication Interface .......................................................30

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