North American and international hydrogen/fuel cell standards

The commercialization of fuel cells is dependent on the development of performance based standard methods to evaluate safe performance and provide a basis for comparing similar products. Standards utilize the knowledge gained during research and development to provide criteria to evaluate products to a minimum level of safety.Aligning national standards with international requirements facilitates international trade, and provides the basis for international-to-regional harmonization of standards. Coordination of standards development activities on all levels is necessary to prevent duplication of effort and development of conflicting requirements.CSA America, Inc., (CSAA) a nationally recognized and accredited United States Standards Development Organization (SDO), is one of many SDOs leading the effort to facilitate United States interests toward national and international development of standards for fuel cell and hydrogen technologies.This paper will provide an overview of the United States standards activities and issues as they relate to the development of standards activities.