Permitting requirements / process

This Lap analyses the legal (regulations and standards) requirements for HRS and the permitting process, including the administrative process involved in obtaining the required approvals to build and operate a HRS.
Where applicable, it looks at whether the permitting process consists of several processes involving multiple permits and authorities and the nature of each of these processes and steps

Glossary:

Permitting requirements are the legal (regulations and standards) requirements for HRS and the permitting process is the administrative process involved in obtaining the required approvals to build and operate a HRS. The permitting process is actually several processes involving multiple permits and authorities.

Pan-European Assessment:

When considering the process for permitting of construction and operation of an HRS, there are very few countries where the regulations specifically target H2 HRS, the most advanced of these being Germany, Denmark, the UK and the Netherlands.
Where explicit requirements exist, they invariably require a risk assessment to be carried out covering safety risks associated with fire and explosion, risks to health and risks to the environment. The risk assessments should also identify the control measures to be put in place to provide an adequate level of public safety for the proposed installations. The risk assessment should include an assessment of the major accident hazards presented by the delivery, storage and dispensing of hydrogen at the site and identify controls and contingency plans.

Where specific regulations for hydrogen fuelling stations don’t exist, it is expected that authorities will draw on both the permitting process of conventional refuelling stations as well as the regulations applicable for (industrial) H2 storage and for H2 production. This method of working generates requirements well beyond those applicable to conventional stations and the permitting process carries some “regulatory risks” for the operator, as the interpretation and demands from the regional administrative authority can be different from one region to another. By contrast, the requirements for conventional fuel storage at refuelling station are very similar in all EU countries. The lack of experience of potential HRS operators as well as public authorities coupled with the lack of guidelines and instructions for local authorities can cause delays and extra costs and may lead to divergent interpretations from case-to-case, further complicating the obligations of HRS operators.

select country:

Is it a barrier?

Assessment Severity

Assessment

Time consumption

Questions:

Question 1 What is the competent authority responsible for the permitting requirements? If more than one, list them

Authority responsible of building, fire handling and environmental permits : local municipality. Authority responsible of the permit to handle and store inflammable gas : Municipality Fire Brigade, or Danish emergency Management Agency if it is a large volume storage Authority for design approval (if the installation is not CE–marked) : Danish Working Environment Authority

Question 2 What are the different steps of the process (e.g. which authority in charge of each step)? If possible, add a flow chart.

Step 1: “Dialogue with local municipality”: once the scope and main data of a project are defined, it should be presented to the local municipality in charge of delivering building, fire handling and environmental permits. The local municipality will verify the alignment of the project with the local spatial planning, and plan any necessary changes Step 2: Submit an application for a building permit to the municipality following the information on the “Byg & Miljø” homepage. Step3: Submit an application for a permit to handle and store inflammable gas to the Municipality Fire Brigade or the Danish emergency Management Agency if a large volume of storage is involved (Guideline to technical regulations for gasses, DEMA Guideline no.15). Step 4: Submit an application for an environmental permit via the “Byg & Miljø” homepage if the stored hydrogen is higher than a certain level (ref. LBK 1189) and depending on the kind of company the applicant belongs to. See LBK 1140 and SEVESO III directive for further details. Step 5: – Submit an application for design approval to the Danish Working Environment Authority if the installation is not CE–marked (ref. BEK no. 190 of 15/12/2015 and 414 of 8/7/1988). Step 6: Site verification by the Municipality Fire Brigade Step 7: – Site verification by an accredited (PID) inspection body if the installation is not CE–marked.

Question 3 Are there any exemptions/ “simplified” process (e.g. for demonstration projects)?

Question 4 What kind of permits are needed from the approval authority, and are they separated/integrated (single permit)? E.g. building permit, construction a operation permit for installations, environmental permit

The different permits are separated: (i) – Building permit; (ii) – Permit to store and handle inflammable gas; (iii) – Environmental permit.. (iii) – Design approval of parts not CE–marked

Question 5 Is the process at local level uniform throughout a country? (uniform interpretation?)

The process is uniform throughout the country but depends a lot on the persons involved.

Question 6 How long does it take to obtain a permit for the construction and operation of HRS? a) Is there a maximum response time for granting the permit? b) If yes, what is the response time? c) What is the actual experience in practice?

If the chosen site does not fit into the municipality’s detailed plans for the area – you need an extended period to change this – and you may not succeed and have to find a new site. – If the HRS is designed as one complete CE marked container solution and you place this container in the corner of an already operating gasoline/diesel station, the time to obtain permit for operation may be reduced to just 6 mnths. – Response and case handling time from the municipality varies considerably. – The process described above consists in a number of applications and actions, each of which may include a number of iterations with meetings and discussions. In total, the permit process may last from 6 months to 3 years. For a very large H2 production facility it may take 6 years or more. For instance plants producing 500.000 to 1 million Nm3/h hydrogen

Question 6 How long does it take to obtain a permit for the construction and operation of HRS? a - Is there a maximum response time for granting the permit?

a - No, when safety issues are involved, no authority can limit time.

Question 6 How long does it take to obtain a permit for the construction and operation of HRS? c - What is the actual experience in practice? How long does it take to obtain a permit for the construction and operation of HRS?

Response and case handling time from the municipality varies considerably. If the chosen site does not fit into the municipality’s detailed plans you need an extended period to change this – and you may not succeed and have to find a new site. If the HRS is designed as one complete CE marked container solution and you place this container in the corner of an already operating gasoline/diesel station, the time to obtain permit for operation may be reduced to just 6 months. In total, the permit process may last from 6 months to 3 years. For a very large H2 production facility it may take 6 years or more. For instance, plants producing 500.000 to 1 million Nm3/h hydrogen

Question 7 Are there specific requirements from the authorities before/during/after construction of HRS for its commissioning?

Yes, there are lots of case and site specific requirements. All permits from involved authorities must be obtained while fiwing issues from site inspections before permit for operation can be obtained. That includes all needed documentation (risk asssessments, emergency organisations…)

Question 8 When is the HRS ready for operation?

Once the whole permitting process is through and the permit for operation obtained, the HRS is ready for operation.

Describe the comparable technology and its relevance with regard to hydrogen

Natural gas

National legislation:

EU Legislation:

Directive 2012/18/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 July 2012 on the control of major-accident hazards involving dangerous substances (so-called SEVESO Directive)
The Directive covers situations where dangerous substances may be present (e.g. during processing or storage) in quantities exceeding certain thresholds.

It establishes:
• General obligations on the operator (Article 5)
• Notification (information on the form and amount of substances, the activity, and the surrounding environment) of all concerned establishments (Article 7),
• The obligation to deploy a major accident prevention policy (Article 8),
• The obligation to produce a safety report for upper-tier establishments (Article 10);
• The obligation to produce internal emergency plans for upper tier establishments (Article 12);
• Authorities to exert control of the siting of new establishments, modifications to new establishments, and new developments including transport routes, locations of public use and residential areas in the vicinity of establishments, (Article 13)
• The obligation to conduct public consultations on specific individual projects that may involve risk of major accidents (Article 15)

Annex I, Part 1, establishes Hydrogen as a dangerous substance (therefore within scope) and lists the quantity of hydrogen for the application of lower-tier requirements (≥ 5t) and upper-tier requirements (≥ 50t).

For quantities of less than 5 tonnes of hydrogen, none of the obligations above would apply.

The Directive is relevant for both the approval of bunkering / landing installations as well as on board transport of hydrogen
ATEX Directive 2014/34/EU - covering equipment and protective systems intended for use in potentially explosive atmospheres
The Directive defines the essential health and safety requirements and conformity assessment procedures (Article 4) to be applied before products are placed on the EU market and is significant for the engineering of hydrogen production plants. It covers inter alia equipment and protective systems intended for use in potentially explosive atmospheres.

The Directive requires employers to classify areas where hazardous explosive atmospheres may occur into zones. The classification given to a particular zone, and its size and location, depends on the likelihood of an explosive atmosphere occurring and its persistence if it does.

The Directive requires the manufacturers to design their equipment to be suitable for use within their customer’s explosive atmosphere. Therefore, manufacturers of equipment rely upon their customer to give them information about the classification of the zone and the flammable substance(s) within that zone.

The Directive describes the rules and regulations for all actors in the value chain, with respect to ensuring that only safe equipment for use in potentially explosive atmospheres are sold and applied. It provides regulation of how the equipment shall be constructed, produced and documented, as well as the rules for CE-labelling.

It also contains, inter alia conformity assessment procedures (Art 13) EU declaration of conformity (Art 14) and General principles of the CE marking (Art 16)

The Directive is relevant for the approval of landing / bunkering installations
Directive 2014/52/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 April 2014 amending Directive 2011/92/EU on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment).
The Directives (and their subsequent amendments) define a strategic environmental impact assessment procedure. The procedure is summarized as follows: the developer may request the competent authority define what should be covered by the EIA information to be provided by the developer (scoping stage); the developer must provide information on the environmental impact (EIA report – Annex IV); the environmental authorities and the public (and affected Member States) must be informed and consulted; the competent authority decides, taken into consideration the results of consultations. The public is informed of the decision afterwards and can challenge the decision before the courts.

In line with the EIA Directive, Production and Storage of Hydrogen falls within the projects listed in Annex II (6a and 6c -production of chemicals; and storage facilities for chemical product), for which Member States shall determine whether the project shall be made subject to an assessment or not. In some EU countries, storage of 5 tons of hydrogen or more falls within the scope of the Directives.

The latest amendment, (Directive 2014/52/EU) introduces minimum requirements with regards to the type of projects subject to assessment, the main obligations of developers, the content of the assessment and the participation of the competent authorities and the public.
Directive 2011/92/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 2011 on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment (EIA Directive)
The Directives (and their subsequent amendments) define a strategic environmental impact assessment procedure. The procedure is summarized as follows: the developer may request the competent authority define what should be covered by the EIA information to be provided by the developer (scoping stage); the developer must provide information on the environmental impact (EIA report – Annex IV); the environmental authorities and the public (and affected Member States) must be informed and consulted; the competent authority decides, taken into consideration the results of consultations. The public is informed of the decision afterwards and can challenge the decision before the courts.

In line with the EIA Directive, Production and Storage of Hydrogen falls within the projects listed in Annex II (6a and 6c -production of chemicals; and storage facilities for chemical product), for which Member States shall determine whether the project shall be made subject to an assessment or not. In some EU countries, storage of 5 tons of hydrogen or more falls within the scope of the Directives.

The latest amendment, (Directive 2014/52/EU) introduces minimum requirements with regards to the type of projects subject to assessment, the main obligations of developers, the content of the assessment and the participation of the competent authorities and the public.
Directive 2001/42/EC on the assessment of the effects of certain plans and programmes on the environment (SEA Directive)
The Directives (and their subsequent amendments) define a strategic environmental impact assessment procedure. The procedure is summarized as follows: the developer may request the competent authority define what should be covered by the EIA information to be provided by the developer (scoping stage); the developer must provide information on the environmental impact (EIA report – Annex IV); the environmental authorities and the public (and affected Member States) must be informed and consulted; the competent authority decides, taken into consideration the results of consultations. The public is informed of the decision afterwards and can challenge the decision before the courts.

In line with the EIA Directive, Production and Storage of Hydrogen falls within the projects listed in Annex II (6a and 6c -production of chemicals; and storage facilities for chemical product), for which Member States shall determine whether the project shall be made subject to an assessment or not. In some EU countries, storage of 5 tons of hydrogen or more falls within the scope of the Directives.

The latest amendment, (Directive 2014/52/EU) introduces minimum requirements with regards to the type of projects subject to assessment, the main obligations of developers, the content of the assessment and the participation of the competent authorities and the public.
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Directive 2014/94/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 October 2014 on the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure (AFID)
The AFID establishes a common framework of measures for the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure in the Union in order to minimize dependence on oil and to mitigate the environmental impact of transport.

The Directive sets out minimum requirements for the building-up of alternative fuels infrastructure, including recharging points for electric vehicles and refuelling points for natural gas (LNG and CNG) and hydrogen, to be implemented by means of Member States' national policy frameworks, as well as common technical specifications for such recharging and refuelling points, and user information requirements.

Article 2 defines ‘Alternative fuels’ as fuels or power sources which serve, at least partly, as a substitute for fossil oil sources in the energy supply to transport and which have the potential to contribute to its decarbonisation and enhance the environmental performance of the transport sector. They include, inter alia: hydrogen.

It lays down, in Article 5, that Member States which decide to include hydrogen refuelling points accessible to the public in their national policy frameworks shall ensure that, by 31 December 2025, an appropriate number of such points are available, to ensure the circulation of hydrogen-powered motor vehicles, including fuel cell vehicles, within networks determined by those Member States, including, where appropriate, cross-border links.

Annex II contains technical specifications for hydrogen refuelling points for motor vehicles and additionally lays down that:
• Outdoor hydrogen refuelling points dispensing gaseous hydrogen used as fuel on board motor vehicles shall comply with the technical specifications of the ISO/TS 20100 Gaseous Hydrogen Fuelling specification.
• The hydrogen purity dispensed by hydrogen refuelling points shall comply with the technical specifications included in the ISO 14687-2 standard.
• Hydrogen refuelling points shall employ fuelling algorithms and equipment complying with the ISO/TS 20100 Gaseous Hydrogen Fuelling specification.
• Connectors for motor vehicles for the refuelling of gaseous hydrogen shall comply with the ISO 17268 gaseous hydrogen motor vehicle refuelling connection devices standard.
ISO/TS 19880–1:2016(en) Gaseous hydrogen – Fuelling stations – Part 1: General requirements 90.92 43.060.40 71.100.20 ISO/NP 19880–1 Gaseous hydrogen – Fuelling stations – Part 1: General requirements 10.99 43.060.40 71.100.20 ISO/CD 19880–2 Gaseous hydrogen – Fuelling stations –– Part 2: Dispensers 30.92 43.060.40 71.100.20 ISO/DIS 19880–3 Gaseous hydrogen – Fuelling stations – Part 3: Valves 40.60 43.060.40 71.100.20 ISO/AWI 19880–4 Gaseous hydrogen – Fuelling stations – Part 4: Compressors 20.00 ISO/CD 19880–5 Gaseous hydrogen – Fuelling stations – Part 5: Hoses 30.60 43.060.40 71.100.20 ISO/AWI 19880–6 Gaseous hydrogen – Fuelling stations – Part 6: Fittings 20.00 ISO/CD 19880–8 Gaseous hydrogen – Fuelling stations – Part 8: Hydrogen quality control