Abstract
Quality control of hydrogen fuel requires samples to be taken from the nozzle of the hydrogen refueling station dispenser. Samples should be collected at representative pressures and gas velocities and also over the normal duration of a vehicle refuel-ling protocol. The quality control of hydrogen fuel requires analysis for more than ten gas impurities where particularly sulfur and formaldehyde in the low ppbmol concentration range is difficult to attain. Through the H2MovesScandinavia and HyCoRA projects, SINTEF has performed quality control of hydrogen fuel since 2012. Several strategies for gas sampling and particulate collection onto filters has been evaluated. Through international collaboration on this topic, these sampling methods has now been formalized into ISO 19880-1 standard, Annex I. No analytical laboratory in Europe is currently capable of performing analysis of hydrogen fuel in compliance with prevailing ISO and SAE standards. Samples have therefore been sent to a US laboratory for analysis while analytical capabilities are being established in Europe. The analytical results indicate that fuel quality are generally good. The fuel index is rarely compromised due to introduction of permanent gases. Violations of sulfur tolerance levels have not been observed. The laboratory quantification levels much lower than the tolerance limits has been used to evaluate systematic correlations between hydrogen fuel feed stock and the fuel impurity levels.