Hydrogen Quantitative Risk Assessment

Sandia’s Quantitative Risk Assessment (QRA) team develops methodologies to identify hazards, understand risk drivers, and develop strategies to reduce risk in hydrogen infrastructure. The models, data, methods, and tools developed by Sandia facilitate the use of science and engineering to support the revision of codes and standards that ensure the safe use of hydrogen.

Advancement of the technical basis involves development of data and models for understanding hazards, modeling relevant accident scenarios, predicting physical effects, and characterizing the impact of hazards on people and structures. This entails ongoing collaboration with the behavior team, to refine and experimentally validate first-order predictive models for hydrogen physical phenomena. This also involves similar analyses for other alternative fuels, such as natural gas. Accumulation of this technical basis and other knowledge puts the state-of-the-art science and engineering models in the hands of decision makers such as codes and standards developers and station designers. This approach enables decision makers to design, analyze, and optimize safe and economical hydrogen installations.

A useful tool to achieve these goals is HyRAM+ software, which contains many QRA and physics models for hydrogen risk and behavior. HyRAM+ is a fast and easy-to-use tool for modeling hydrogen conditions and assessing associated risk.

Through the development of models, data, and tools for QRA, Sandia has introduced, and continues to advance, the application of risk-informed decision making within the hydrogen community. Sandia research staff work collaboratively with the Department of Energy’s Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office, the hydrogen industry, vehicle manufacturers, codes and standards organizations, and other government agencies, national laboratories, and researchers to increase the safety and remove technical barriers to the deployment of hydrogen systems.

• Contact
• Publications

Marina Miletic

(505) 284-6272

mmileti@sandia.gov

	Melissa Louie, YeongAe Heo, and Brian D. Ehrhart. Quantitative Risk Assessment for Hydrogen-Powered Locomotive Refueling. SAND2024-11299, August 2024.
	Melissa S. Louie, Benjamin B. Schroeder, Brian D. Ehrhart. Example Implementation for Cascading Leaks in Large-Scale Hydrogen Storage Risk Assessments. SAND2020-10828, October 2020.
	Benjamin Schroeder and Dusty Brooks. Uncertainty Quantification and Sensitivity Analysis for Quantitative Risk Assessments of Hydrogen Infrastructure. SAND2024-09878, August 2024.
	Melissa S. Louie and Brian D. Ehrhart. Quantitative Risk Assessment Examples for Underground Hydrogen Storage Facilities. SHASTA: Subsurface Hydrogen Assessment, Storage, and Technology Acceleration Project, SAND2024-07060R, June 2024.
	Austin Glover, Austin Baird, and Dusty Brooks. Final Report on Hydrogen Plant Hazards and Risk Analysis Supporting Hydrogen Plant Siting near Nuclear Power Plants. SAND2020-10828, October 2020.
	B.D. Ehrhart, S.R. Harris, M.L. Blaylock, A.B. Muna, and S. Quong. Risk assessment and ventilation modeling for hydrogen releases in vehicle repair garages. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy 46(23), 2021, pp. 12429-12438.
	Brian D. Ehrhart, Dusty M. Brooks, Alice B. Muna, and Chris B. LaFleur. Risk Assessment of Hydrogen Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles in Tunnels. Fire Technology 56, 2020, pp. 891-912.
	Brian D. Ehrhart, Shaun R. Harris, Myra L. Blaylock, Alice B. Muna, and Spencer A. Quong. Risk Assessment and Ventilation Modeling for Hydrogen Release in Vehicle Repair Garages. SAND2020-4221, April 2020.
	Chris LaFleur, Gabriela Bran-Anleu, Alice B. Muna, Brian D. Ehrhart, Myra Blaylock, and William G. Houf. Hydrogen Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle Tunnel Safety Study. SAND2017-11157, October 2017.