Permitting requirements / process, including safety distances (external/internal)

This LAP refers to the permitting requirements. In particular it underlines if there are some requirements in terms of environmental assessment, risk assessment, safety requirements. It identifies what is the competent authority responsible for the permitting requirements, what are the different steps of the process, and what are the different kinds of permits needed by the approval authority. Finally, it shows if the process is uniform throughout the country, how much time is needed to obtain the permit, and if there are some exemptions/simplified processes.

Glossary:

A process in which an applicant files forms to a (regulatory) agency/competent authority with required narratives, maps, etc., to ensure in advance that the proposed operation will be in compliance with the applicable standards. Permitting requirements are the legal (regulations and standards) requirements.
An internal safety distance is the minimal separation distance between a potential hazard source (e.g. equipment involving dangerous substances) and an object (human, equipment or environment), which will mitigate the effect of a likely foreseeable incident and prevent a minor incident escalating into a larger incident (also known as domino effect).

Pan-European Assessment:

Subject to significant operational variance (in terms of scope of application and operationalisation of requirements), the storage of hydrogen is, generally, subject to the following requirements:
• Risk Assessments (as operationalised from the general obligations laid down in the SEVESO Directive).
• Health and Safety requirements and conformity assessment procedures, as envisioned by the ATEX Directive.
• Environmental Impact Assessment procedures, as envisioned by the SEA and EIA Directives.

Subjecting hydrogen storage to risk assessments, in accordance with the SEVESO and ATEX Directive is in line with the purpose and intention of these acts, however, the application of the EIA and SEA Directives and other environmental permitting may result in disproportionate administrative burden on project developers and economic operators wishing to bring hydrogen applications such as HRS’s and micro-CHPs to market. In addition, the process itself (involving several permits, provided by different authorities, and requiring much time and effort) imposes high costs on operators and further delays the commercial deployment of these applications.
Finally, and importantly, safety distances are, in some cases, very restrictive and can be seen as a major barrier. This is discussed in more detail in the chapter dedicated to hydrogen refuelling stations

select country:

Is it a barrier?

Assessment Severity

Questions:

Question 1 What are the main requirements with their applicable regulations for storing hydrogen (e.g. permitting regime, agreement) apart from the land use planning? Please list them including: a - What are the main regulations/requirements regarding land use plans for storing hydrogen (e.g. permitting regime, agreement)?

a -ore inflammable gas is necessary, delivered either by the Municipality Fire Brigade or the Danish Emergency Management Agency in case of large storage volume (equal to more than 10000 gas storage units (GOE in Danish) defined as 10 litres of compressed gas (see national ref 4 ). . An environmental permit is also needed.

b - Risk assessments is are integrated into other permissions processes/ requirements.

c - The main safety requirement is the need to present a risk analysis ensuring that the design is safe.

Question 1 What are the main requirements with their applicable regulations for storing hydrogen (e.g. permitting regime, agreement) apart from the land use planning? Please list them including: d - Are there specific requirements or zone prohibitions for storing hydrogen in the land use plans? What are the main requirements with their applicable regulations for storing hydrogen (e.g. permitting regime, agreement) apart from the land use planning? Please list them including:

d - Click here to enter free text

Question 2 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 3 What are the different steps of the process (e.g. which authority in charge of each step)?

– 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. – Submit an application for a building permit to the municipality following the information on the “Byg & Miljø” homepage. – 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). – Submit an application for an environmental permit via the “Byg & Miljø” homepage if the stored amount of hydrogen is higher than a certain level (5 or 50 ton) . Then the environmental permission process is much more substantial – the so–called VVM process – a Danish implementation of the EU directive 2014/52/EU. – Submit an application for design approval to the Danish Working Environment Authority if part of the installation is not CE–marked (ref. BEK no. 190 of 15/12/2015 and 414 of 8/7/1988). – Site verification by the Municipality Fire Brigade – Site verification by an accredited (PID) inspection body if the installation is not CE–marked.

Question 4 Are there any exemptions/”simplified” process (e.g. for demonstration projects)?

Question 5 What kind of permits are needed by the approval authority, and are they separated/integrated (single permit)? E.g. building permit , construction and operation permit for installations, environmental permit

The different permits are separated : – Building permit – Permit to store and handle inflammable gas – Environmental permit if the stored hydrogen is higher than a certain level or depending on the kind of company the applicant belongs to. – Design approval if not CE–marked

Question 6 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.

Describe the comparable technology and its relevance with regard to hydrogen

Storage of any other technical gasses

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 2014/68/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 2014 on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to the making available on the market of pressure equipment.
The Pressure Equipment Directive, applies to the design, manufacture and conformity assessment of pressure equipment and assemblies with a maximum allowable pressure greater than 0.5 bar.

Technical requirements and classification according to an ascending level of hazard, depending on pressure, volume or nominal size, the fluid group and state of aggregation, as well as conformity assessment procedures are laid down and required by the Directive

Hydrogen is a fluid which falls under Group 1. Group 1 consists of dangerous fluids (flammable, toxic and/or oxidizing). As a result, a large part of the equipment for H2 production, storage and distribution must meet the technical requirements set out in the Pressure Equipment Directive (PED).

The Directive is relevant for the approval of landing / bunkering installations
Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora.
Article 6, states the requirement of assessment of plans or projects not connected with the management of, but likely to have a significant effect on the conservation objectives of Natura 2000 sites
Directive 2009/147/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 November 2009 on the conservation of wild birds.
The main provisions of the Directive include the maintenance of the populations of all wild bird species (article 2), as well as the identification and classification of Special Protection Areas (SPAs) for rare or vulnerable species, and the establishment of a general scheme of protection for all wild birds (Article 5). They further define the conditions under which permission may be given for otherwise prohibited activities