(551g) Hydrogen Process Safety and Workforce Development

Recent substantial investments by industry, by states, and nations in the hydrogen economy drive the need for renewed attention to hydrogen safety by all members of the workforce and their leadership. For example, the ~$8B federal investment in the US hydrogen economy is anticipated to generate jobs across the labor force from technicians to engineers to managers, many of whom do not have significant experience with hydrogen safety. Even among established companies the differences between general process safety and hydrogen process safety due to the unique properties of hydrogen may not be well appreciated. This talk will address tools available to support chemical engineering educators in hydrogen safety, educational materials developed by AIChE's Center for Hydrogen Safety, and an emerging effort to develop training curriculum that is remotely accessible with augmented reality/virtual reality (AR/VR) and hydrogen safety components.