European Hydrogen Emergency Response training programme for First Responders

The HyResponse project will establish the World’s first comprehensive training programme for first responders, i.e. a European Hydrogen Safety Training Platform (EHSTP), to facilitate safer deployment of FCH systems and infrastructure. The EHSTP will provide first responders with the unique hi-tech training facilities, the original training materials based on a curriculum to be developed by professionals in the field of fire and hydrogen safety science and engineering that form the consortium. The core training programme is threefold: educational training, including the state-of-the-art knowledge in hydrogen safety, operational training on mock-up real scale hydrogen and fuel cell installations, and innovative virtual reality training reproducing in detail an entire accident scenario, including influence of first responder’s intervention. First responders will acquire professional knowledge and skills to contribute to FCH permitting process as approving authority. Contemporary engineering tools to assess accident scene status and facilitate decision making will be developed. Three pilot training sessions will be organised during the project. The Emergency Response Guide, explaining details of intervention strategy and tactics, will be developed and included into the pilot training sessions to receive attendees’ feedback. The Advisory and Consultative Panel will be established to engage as much as possible European stakeholders and provide highest outreach of the project results. The Panel membership will be open to first responders, site operators, representatives and hydrogen industry and car manufacturers throughout Europe. A website will stay active for training of new comers after the end of the project. EHSTP will train first responders to deal with all safety aspects for a range of hydrogen applications, including passenger vehicles, buses, forklifts, refuelling stations, backup power, stationary fuel cells for combined production of heat and power, etc.

Topic:

SP1-JTI-FCH.2012.3.7: Field demonstration of large scale stationary power and CHP fuel cell systems

Coordinator:

Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Officiers de Sapeurs-Pompiers, France

Contact:

Mr. Marc Lopez

Other participating organisations: