Skip to main content
Clean Hydrogen Partnership

Mishap at a HRS caused by a CGH2 tube trailer

Event

Event ID
911
Quality
Description

A hydrogen leak occurred at a plant's hydrogen fill station. After having transferred the load to the plant station storage system, a tube trailer pulled away and caught a hydrogen fill line. The driver of the trailer did not properly stow the line after filling and failed to verify that it was clear of the trailer before leaving.
The hydrogen fill line caught on the trailer and subsequently pulled on the distribution manifold which was regulating the distribution of the refuelling station stationary storage tubes. The force exercised by this pull bent the manifold and hydrogen began leaking from a threaded connection and from the hydrogen fill line. The escaping hydrogen did not ignited.
The fire department and the service technician of the hydrogen delivery company stopped the leak at the stationary ground tube storage system by closing the individual valves on each hydrogen storage tube.

Event Initiating system
Classification of the physical effects
Hydrogen Release and Ignition
Nature of the consequences
leak no ignition
Macro-region
North America
Country
United States
Date
Component involved
hose (trailer)
Failure mode
rupture, no ignition
Initiating cause
impact, rollover, crash
Root CAUSE analysis

The INITIATING CAUSE was the damage to the pressure control manifold under the force of the flexible line pulled away by the trailer.
The ROOT CAUSE was mainly a negligence of the trailer driver. In absence of a connection breakaway, the accidental scenario of the trailer leaving with the fill line still attached should be given more attention.

Root causes
Date entry in HIAD
30/12/2024

Facility

Application
Hydrogen transport and distribution
Sub-application
CGH2 tube trailer
Hydrogen supply chain stage
All components affected

filling line, manifold

Process temperature range [C]
ambient temperature (-50°C to +50°C)
Process pressure range [MPa]
medium to high pressure (10 to 50 MPa)
Location type
Open
Location
industrial area
Operational condition
Pre-event occurrences

The filling operation had terminated and the trailer was ready to drive away.

Emergency & Consequences

Number of fatalities
0
Number of injured persons
0
Post-event summary

The manifold and the filling line were damaged.
The damaged hydrogen stationary storage unit was replaced it with a hydrogen tube trailer with concrete barriers installed to provide protection.

Emergency action

6:45 PM The truck trailer driver reported hearing a "pop and hissing sound", stopped the trailer-truck movement, and then promptly left the truck to report the incident.
The local fire department was contacted and the building was evacuated.
8:00 PM The fire department arrived, together with the hydrogen delivery company service technician. The hydrogen leak at the plant's hydrogen ground storage system was stopped by closing the individual valves on each hydrogen storage tube.
10:00 PM, The all clear was given.
Hydrogen operations were restored to the plant the next day

Lesson Learnt

Lesson Learnt

(i) Trailer drivers need to be trained on delivery procedures and emphasize made aware of the consequence of mishaps related to connections and disconnections.
(ii) The procedures for hydrogen delivery, including the preparatory and the end-of-operations steps, must be site-specific.
(iii) Verification of the proper execution of the actions must be part of the procedure prior to departure, possibly by means of a checklist, to verify that the conditions enabling a safe trailer movement are in place.

In-depth data

Release type
gas
Involved substances (% vol)
H2 100%
Release temperature [°C]
25
Probable IGNITION SOURCE

References

Sources categories
H2TOOLS
Reference & weblink

Event description in the US database H2Tools/Lesson Learned
https://h2tools.org/lessons/hydrogen-delivery-truck-causes-hydrogen-lea…
(accessed October 2024)