Developing Safety Standards for FCVs and Hydrogen Vehicles

The SAE FCV Safety Working Group has been addressing fuel cell vehicle (FCV) safety for over 8 years. The initial document, SAE J2578, was published in 2002. SAE J2578 has been valuable to FCV development with regard to the identification of hazards and the definition of countermeasures to mitigate these hazards such that FCVs can be operated in the same manner as conventional gasoline internal combustion engine (ICE)-powered vehicles. J2578 is currently being updated to clarify and update requirements so that it will continue to be relevant and useful in the future.

An update to SAE J1766 for post-crash electrical safety was also published to reflect unique aspects of FCVs and to harmonize electrical requirements with international standards.

In addition to revising SAE J2578 and J1766, the Working Group is also developing a new Technical Information Report (TIR) for vehicular hydrogen systems (SAE J2579). The initial focus of this document is compressed hydrogen, as most FCVs currently use this form of storage. Systems-level, performance-based requirements are being established to demonstrate that hydrogen can be safely contained within the storage system for the life of the vehicle. It is envisioned that the TIR will serve as a basis for verification of the test methodologies and then, after a couple years, the document can be upgraded and published as a Recommended Practice. The objective of this approach is to address long-term real-world system safety while still facilitating rapid advances by the industry.