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
Is it a barrier?
No
Assessment Severity
0
Assessment
The LAP is important for identifying the permit requirements for hydrogen storage facilities and assessing whether the hydrogen storage facilities are subject to more stringent requirements than those for other gas storage facilities.

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 - Environmental impact assessment aa) For hydrogen storage on–site ≥ 200t – an environmental impact assessment is always required ab) For hydrogen storage ≥ 30t (and < 200t) – an environmental impact assessment could be required, if the project as such can have considerable negative impact on the environment at the discretion of the approval authority by an overall preliminary assessment. ac) For hydrogen storage >3t< 30t an environmental impact assessment may be required due to specific local circumstances and under the condition of ab).
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: b - Are there specific requirements or zone prohibitions for storing hydrogen in the land use plans?
b - Risk assessment pursuant to the Ordinance on Industrial Safety and Health At workplaces with a higher risk of potential hazards is necessary to carry out risk assessment for commissioning of the facility and on a regular basis and to determine safety measures.
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: c - Are there specific requirements or zone prohibitions for storing hydrogen in the land use plans?
c - ca) Safety requirements according to the Hazardous Accidents Ordinance caa) in operating areas, where the hydrogen is present in quantities ≥ 5t – before commissioning, the operator must draw up a written concept for the prevention of hazardous accidents; cab) in operating areas, where the hydrogen is present in quantities ≥ 50t – before commissioning the operator must – (and each 5 years after commissioning) draw up a written safety report (including concept for the prevention of hazardous accidents and security management system); – prepare alarm and emergency plans; – (and before accident hazard related changes) inform the general public via internet and in local newspapers about security measures taken; – appoint an accident officer. cb) General safety requirements (equipment and operational safety) – emergency – danger – defence plan – alarm and fire service action plan – documents of the pressure equipment and of explosive equipment (CE– conformity declarations, CE–marking) – explosion protection documents – this document must state that explosion hazards are identified and evaluated, adequate precautions are taken and the explosive areas are classified into EX–zones – electrical circuit diagram (electrical safety) cc) Safety distances The determination of the safety distances depends on the local conditions. There is not common method available to determine the internal safety distances. The external safety distances are determined on the basis of the risk assessment according to the Ordinance on Industrial Safety and Health.
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 - Occupational safety requirements – general requirements of the Occupational Safety Act and the Ordinance on Workplaces; – requirements of Industrial professional associations (Berufsgenossenschaften). They are legally authorized to lay down accident prevention regulations as an autonomous right. The regulations have to be adopted by the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs.
Question 2 What is the competent authority responsible for the permitting requirements? If more than one, list them
The responsible authorities vary among the states, normally this is the state Trade Supervisory Inspectorate (Gewerbeaufsichtsamt). For building permit the responsible authorities are the Building Regulatory Authorities.
Question 3 What are the different steps of the process (e.g. which authority in charge of each step)?
The procedures for permitting hydrogen storage facilities are the following: 1. For building of hydrogen storage facility < 3t: – procedure according to §13 of Ordinance for Industrial Safety and Health for granting a construction and operation permit; – procedure according to Federal State Building Regulations for granting a building permit; 2. For building of hydrogen storage facility ≥ 3t < 30t – simplified permit procedure according to §19 of Federal Immission Control Act for granting a construction and operation permit (includes the building permit procedure and the environmental impact assessment, if required); 3. For building of hydrogen storage facility ≥ 30t – formal permit procedure with public participation according to §10 of Federal Immission Control Act. (includes the building permit procedure and the environmental impact assessment, if required). The main steps of the permitting process are: 1. Definition of the scope of the project by the owner; 2. Identification of the applicable permit procedure, permit authority and stakeholders to be involved; 3. Submission of an approval application accompanied by: – expert opinion of authorised inspection body (ZÜS report). The authorized inspection bodies are TÜV, DEKRA etc. The expert opinion shall be in accordance with the Ordinance of Industrial Safety and Health and normally consist of description and assessment of planned facilities and operating procedures with regard to the safety requirements, fire and explosion protection as well as to the Ordinance of Hazardous Substances; – documents, describing the planned facility, processes, equipment, safety measures etc.; – site plan, construction drawings (required for the building permit). 4. Provision of information to the general public (in case of formal procedure with public participation): – public announcement of the project; – public disclosure of the approval application; – possibility of objections; – public display of the plans. 5. Issuing of construction and operation permit, including building permit. 6. Commissioning.
Question 4 Are there any exemptions/”simplified” process (e.g. for demonstration projects)?
No permit according to the Federal Immission Control Act is required for installations when they are used for the research, development or testing of new feedstocks, fuels or processes in laboratories or in pilot plants. However, the pilot plants must be constructed and operated in such a way that environmental damage is prevented, where the state of technology allows; any unavoidable environmental impact must be kept to a minimum. A building permit is required.
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
1. For building of hydrogen storage facility < 3t: – construction and operation permit according to §13 of Ordinance for Industrial safety and Health; – building permit according to Federal State Building Regulations; 2. For building of hydrogen storage facility ≥ 3t < 30t – construction and operation permit (includes the building permit) after simplified permit procedure according to §19 of Federal Immission Control Act; 3. For building of hydrogen storage facility ≥ 30t – construction and operation permit (includes the building permit) after formal permit procedure with public participation according to §10 of Federal Immission Control Act;
Question 6 Is the process at local level uniform throughout a country? (uniform interpretation?)
There is a common legal framework for issuing construction and operation permits, although the permitting requirements and procedures, and also permitting authorities vary among the federal states. The requirements and procedures for building permits are regulated in the State Buildings Ordinances and may vary significantly
Describe the comparable technology and its relevance with regard to hydrogen
Gas storage facilities

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.
    X
  • 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