Safety Distance Determination Methods for Hydrogen Refueling Stations: A Review

Hydrogen refueling stations (HRSs) have been widely built in many countries to meet the requirements of the rapidly developing hydrogen-fueled vehicle industry. Safety distances are key parameters for HRS designs, but the codes and standards used for determining safety distances vary in different countries. The two main methods for determining the safety distances for HRSs are the consequence-based method and the quantitative risk assessment (QRA)-based method. This article reviews the two methods to show state-of-the-art research on determining safety distances globally. This review shows that the harm criteria in the consequence models differ greatly in the literature and the QRA-based method is a more reasonable way to determine the HRS safety distances. In addition, the QRA models lack reliable frequency data and uniform risk acceptance criteria. Future standardized QRA models should be developed with unified regulations and standards for hydrogen infrastructure.