The Center for Hydrogen Safety (CHS) — a technical community within the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) and a global organization leading the safe advancement of hydrogen as the next-generation fuel —announces a partnership with energy giant BP, which is demonstrating its commitment to safety in the energy transition by joining the board of CHS.
“We are excited to have BP as an executive member of CHS,” says Nick Barilo, Executive Director of the CHS. “BP has the vision to appreciate hydrogen’s major role in transforming the world’s energy portfolio and to recognize the significance that safety has in enabling this achievement.”
Established in 2019 and dedicated to promoting hydrogen safety worldwide, CHS is supporting the hydrogen community’s rapid scale-up to supply a quarter of the world’s energy needs by 2050. CHS membership has grown to 66 organizations and 12 strategic partners in its first 26 months, according to the AIChE.
BP reportedly aims to be a net zero company by 2050 or sooner and to help the world get to net zero. Last year, the integrated energy company announced a strategy to reshape its business as they decarbonize and diversify into different forms of energy, such as renewables, biofuels and hydrogen. The company has stated that it wants a 10% market share of core hydrogen markets by 2030, according to the AIChE.
“Our commitment to investing in the clean hydrogen means taking a leadership role in hydrogen safety,” says Louise Jacobsen Plutt, BP’s senior vice-president for hydrogen and carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS). “CHS is a global leader in providing expertise, training and other critical safety resources in the hydrogen space.”
Key to the CHS mission is providing essential resources to its members as well as access to its Hydrogen Safety Panel. The select panel consists of hydrogen experts and has conducted more than 500 project reviews and produced 140 pages of online best safety practices and comprehensive safety guides according to the AIChE.
Safety training courses deployed by CHS are reportedly utilized globally by over 10,000 first responders. “This year, we are developing an addition nine critical hydrogen safety courses along with a credential to facilitate safe operations and workforce development. Plans are also being developed to add six more courses next year and begin translation work for three additional languages,” says Barilo.
For more information, visit: www.aiche.org/chs
