The SAE FCV Safety Working Group has been addressing fuel cell vehicle (FCV) safety for over 7 years. The initial document, SAE
J2578, was published in 2002. SAE
J2578 has been valuable to the 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 IC-powered vehicles. The document is currently being updated to clarify and update requirements so that the document will continue to be relevant and useful in the future.
In addition to developing draft revisions to SAE
J2578, the working group has updated SAE
J1766 and is developing a new recommended practice on vehicular hydrogen systems (SAE
J2579).
The documents are written from the standpoint of systems-level, performance-based requirements. A risk-based approach was used to identify potential electrical and fuel system hazards and provide criteria for acceptance. As a recommended practice, documents often describe approaches that may be used to mitigate potential risks, but the use of design-prescriptive margins and requirements are minimized in order to still facilitate rapid advances by the industry.
The following sections describe critical areas of vehicle safety that have been addressed by the SAE FCV Safety Working Group.