by Joseph Powell

You may have heard of the Hindenburg disaster in May 1937, where a hydrogen-filled airship caught fire while landing, killing 35 of the 97 passengers.¹ While the cause of the fire has been debated, it could relate to hydrogen or other flammable materials used in construction. Like all fuels, hydrogen is flammable, but so is gasoline, natural gas and jet fuel – all of which have been safely used and handled by consumers and industry for more than a century.

Hydrogen is more buoyant and has a wider flammability range, but it can be handled safely using the same principles as other fuels. The Center for Hydrogen Safety was created in 2020 for global sharing of best practices in safe handling and standards.²

Hydrogen vehicles must store identical amounts of energy, in order to travel the same distances and speeds with similar weights of passengers and goods. All vehicle types must manage safety relative to fires associated with the large amounts of energy stored.

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Reference:

¹ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindenburg_disaster

² American Institute of Chemical Engineers, Center for Hydrogen Safety. https://www.aiche.org/chs