The ITC-ICG 05, the technical instruction that applies in Spain to facilities for the storage and delivery of hydrogen in gas phase for use as fuel for motor vehicles, mentions the need to comply with ISO 19880-1. Furthermore, Delegated Regulation 2019/1745, which complements and amends European Directive 2014/94/EU on alternative fuels infrastructure, indicates that open-air hydrogen refuelling points for motor vehicles must comply with the interoperability requirements described in EN 17127.
The ISO 19880-1 standard defines SAT (Site Acceptance Test) as those tests that are performed on-site, and subsequent to the installation of the fuelling station, to verify the functionality and/or integrity of the fuelling station.
The EN 17127 defines the minimum set of tests to be performed, to ensure the interoperability of the hydrogen fuelling station.
Therefore, both standards propose a series of tests that require the presence of a HSTA (Hydrogen Station Test Apparatus), which basically consists of a device capable of emulating a hydrogen vehicle and which has a series of sensors (pressure, temperature, etc.) to be able to validate all the defined tests. Failing this, the SAT can be validated with the presence of one or more hydrogen-powered vehicles that are sufficiently representative of the type of vehicles that will be refuelled at that service station.
Cetil, as a manufacturer of H2 dispensers, defines and agrees with the client, owner of the hydrogen station, the different SAT to be carried out in each installation according to its characteristics, those of the vehicles and those of the dispenser. Subsequently, our technicians attend these tests in order to verify and adjust the control parameters of our dispenser to comply with the previously established safety requirements.
In any case, it is worth highlighting the need for this type of tests and the importance of dedicating the time required to ensure the safety of the refuelling process. As an example of our involvement in this type of process, attached are some photographs of the SAT carried out last week at the recently inaugurated Exolum HRS at its facilities of San Fernando de Henares (Madrid).
