Safety study of a wind–solar hybrid renewable hydrogen refuelling station in China

•Compressor is major risk contributor to the 1st renewable hydrogen station in China.•Jet fire and flash fire determine lethal distances and harm distances respectively.•Safety distance from compressors and setback perimeter from storages are suggested.

The first renewable hydrogen refuelling station in China is under development for fuel cell vehicles. A safety study is conducted for the hydrogen station that consists of hybrid solar and wind power, integrated hydrogen generation and tube trailer delivery, hydrogen compression, hydrogen storage, and hydrogen filling system. Hazards associated with hydrogen systems are identified and typical failure scenarios are analyzed in terms of event probabilities and consequences severities. Safety measures and emergency responses are discussed. Results show that compressors are the major risk contributor and additional safety measures are required to reduce the hazards from the failure of compressors. Releases of hydrogen can result in either jet fire or flash fire depending on the time of ignition. From the consequence perspective, jet flame length determines the longest lethal distances and flash fire leads to the longest harm distances. To mitigate the risk of catastrophic tank rupture in fire events, all tanks must be cooled with flooding quantities of water. A safety distance of 6 m from the compressors would be appropriate during siting and location decision process, from the risk perspective. However, in the worst-case scenarios, a setback perimeter of 50 m is suggested to keep the public away from the accident scene.