Work

Comparing the safety of bunkering LH 2 and LNG using quantitative risk assessment with a focus on ignition hazards—Sensitivity analysis

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Hydrogen, in its various storage forms, represents a potential fuel for climate-neutral shipping. In order to evaluate the safety of bunkering liquid hydrogen and to establish a basis for a comparison with the bunkering of LNG, a quantitative risk assessment has been conducted. This paper continues this work, by first realizing a quantitative risk assessment (QRA) with adopted systems allowing for the same bunkering duration for both fuels. The investigation shows that the diameter of the pipe has a significant impact on the frequency of hazardous events. To gain a deeper understanding of the effect, a sensitivity analysis is conducted. In addition to the frequencies, a notable impact of the pipe diameter can also be observed with regards to the safety distance in the full rupture case. Furthermore, the safety distances are found to be significantly impacted by wind speed and release time. The ambient temperature and humidity are identified to have only a minor impact. • The pipe diameter has a significant impact on the leak and outcome frequencies. • Wind speed, pipe diameter and release time have a significant impact on the safety distances. • Ambient temperature and humidity only have a minor impact on the safety distances.

Source: International Journal of Hydrogen Energy

DOI: 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2025.153196

Authors: Jorgen Depken, Lars Baetcke, Martin Kaltschmitt, Sören Ehlers

Institutions: Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e. V. (DLR), Hamburg University of Technology

Language: English

Topic: Risk and Safety Analysis

Subfield: Statistics, Probability and Uncertainty

Field: Decision Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Affordable and clean energy

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,730