U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration Joins the Center for Hydrogen Safety as a Strategic Partner

In celebration of U.S. National Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Day today, the Center for Hydrogen Safety (CHS) announced that the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), has joined CHS as a strategic partner working to advance hydrogen safety actions and ideas across the globe.

“As the federal agency that regulates the safety of our nation’s critical hydrogen transportation infrastructure, PHMSA is pleased to join the Center for Hydrogen Safety to share our expertise in the proper handling, storage, and transportation of hydrogen,” said PHMSA Deputy Administrator Tristan Brown. “Since 2021, PHMSA has invested nearly $11 million in research projects aimed at improving the safety of transporting and storing hydrogen through the use of America’s pipeline infrastructure including underground storage.  These investments, coupled with the Center’s work, have only become more important as America continues to turn to hydrogen as an important decarbonization tool.”

Through PHMSA, U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) becomes the second federal agency to join CHS, following the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Having both DOE and PHMSA collaborating with CHS members on hydrogen safety further strengthens the Hydrogen Interagency Task Force’s (HIT) objective of fully leveraging federal agency capabilities across key initiatives and platforms to execute the national clean hydrogen strategy and accelerate the growth of America’s emerging clean energy economy.

“We are very pleased to have PHMSA join the Center for Hydrogen Safety as a valuable strategic partner,” said DOE Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Jeff Marootian, who leads the agency’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. “DOE continues to keep safety as a top priority as we work to transition to a modern, clean energy economy that benefits the climate while providing Americans with a healthier, safer, and more equitable energy system. Working closely with PHMSA on safety is yet another example of how this administration’s all-of-government approach is helping to accelerate outcomes that benefit all Americans.”

CHS features more than 120 organizations working collaboratively to advance the safe handling and storage of hydrogen across commercial and industrial applications, while also providing a common global platform to ensure that hydrogen safety information, guidance, and expertise are available to stakeholders throughout markets worldwide. According to CHS Executive Director Nick Barilo, adding PHMSA’s technical and policy expertise will provide an invaluable pathway to better understanding critical factors surrounding the safe transportation of hydrogen. 

“PHMSA’s mission is comprehensive and deeply impactful,” Barilo noted, “and their strategic approach to hazardous material transportation safety is broadly recognized and valued.”

PHMSA’s scope of regulation, compliance, and safety encompasses more than 3.3 million miles of regulated domestic pipelines, 1.2 million daily shipments of hazardous materials, and 1.6 billion tons of hazardous materials shipped annually across all modes of transport.

CHS is the result of a collaboration between the DOE’s Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, and various global stakeholders. By leveraging decades of collective hydrogen safety experience, the CHS serves as an invaluable asset to the hydrogen and fuel cell community. CHS currently serves a crucial role to the HIT by sharing information on a full range of safety and compliance issues – and potential impacts to communities – nationwide.