Safety Considerations of Hydrogen Application in Shipping in Comparison to LNG

Abstract

Shipping accounts for about 3% of global CO2 emissions. In order to achieve the target set by the Paris Agreement, IMO introduced their GHG strategy. This strategy envisages 50% emission reduction from international shipping by 2050, compared with 2008. This target cannot be fulfilled if conventional fuels are used. Amongst others, hydrogen is considered to be one of the strong candidates as a zero-emissions fuel. Yet, concerns around the safety of its storage and usage have been formulated and need to be addressed. “Safety”, in this article, is defined as the control of recognized hazards to achieve an acceptable level of risk. This article aims to propose a new way of comparing two systems with regard to their safety. Since safety cannot be directly measured, fuzzy set theory is used to compare linguistic terms such as “safer”. This method is proposed to be used during the alternative design approach. This approach is necessary for deviations from IMO rules, for example, when hydrogen should be used in shipping. Additionally, the properties of hydrogen that can pose a hazard, such as its wide flammability range, are identified.