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working groups

The IPHE currently has 2 Working Groups (WG) and 7 Task Forces:

Education & Outreach (E&O) 

Working Group

  • Aims to share information on hydrogen and fuel cell technologies, including the status, challenges, opportunities, and initiatives (particularly on policies and programs) across countries. 

  • Engages in events and activities targeting a broad range of stakeholders including policy makers and government officials at the federal, state, regional and local levels, as well as stakeholders from academia, industry, non-governmental organizations, associations and other decision makers.

  • Convenes student education and outreach events in each country which hosts biannual IPHE Steering Committee meetings

  • Examples of activities include developing fact sheets, communiques, webinars, compilation of funding, programs and policies in each member country related to hydrogen and fuel cells, as well as a snapshot of hydrogen infrastructure by country and number of demonstrations and deployments for different applications.

Regulations, Codes, Standards, & Safety (RCSS)

Working Group

  • Aims to share information, lessons learned and best practices with a focus on hydrogen safety, as well as the harmonization of codes and standards developed by relevant industry code and standards development organizations.

  • By coordinating at the government level, RD&D programs can be developed to address challenges, including regulatory barriers that may be identified through RCSS WG activities.

  • Examples of past activities include round robin testing and protocol dissemination for high pressure hydrogen storage tanks and development of templates to share infrastructure reliability and safety data across countries.

  • Foster dissemination of critical information to relevant stakeholders, particularly related to the safe production, distribution, storage and utilization of hydrogen.

  • Share incident databases and training resources for code officials and first responders among the countries to avoid duplication and leverage knowledge and resources.  (e.g. www.H2tools.org and HIAD 2.0)

  • In May 2022, the Steering Committee approved the launch of two RCSSWG Task Forces, with  task forces on critical topics:

    • Maritime Regulations, Codes and Standards (RCS) Gaps and Risk Analysis - Areas of focus include maritime vessels operated by hydrogen, marine transport of hydrogen, and onshore/offshore bunkering; and

    • Bulk Storage Risk, Gaps and Deployment Barriers - Perform an RCS gaps assessment and identify critical areas for R&D and for RCS changes to enable bulk storage.

  • In November 2024, the Steering Committee approved the launch of an additional task forces addressing Permitting.​

TASK Forces

Active Task Force(s):

Hydrogen Environmental Impact Analysis (HEIA) 
Task Force

Hydrogen Certification Mechanisms (H2CM) 
Task Force

  • The Hydrogen Certification Mechanisms Task Force (H2CM TF) aims at providing a deeper understanding of certification mechanisms, as well as a sound basis to support reaching consensus on implementing interoperable certification mechanisms (i.e. tradable, transparent, and trustworthy) across regions/countries for clean hydrogen, thus contributing to the rapid buildup of international clean hydrogen trade.

  • It provides a summary of existing and emerging clean hydrogen certification mechanisms across the world. The summary includes the principles and the criteria they are relying on, among them GHG emissions, sustainability and social equity; A revised version of the Hydrogen 101 paper has been released in October 2024 and is available here: https://www.iphe.net/hydrogen-certification-101-oct-24

  • It also provides a compare-and-contrast analysis on existing and emerging clean hydrogen certification mechanisms identified above with the assessment of common points between these clean hydrogen certification mechanisms that can be a solid basis to foster interoperability and, therefore, facilitate international clean hydrogen trade. The report Comparison of Certification Mechanisms has been released in December 2024 and is available here: https://www.iphe.net/resources/certification-mechanisms-report-iphe

  • This activity is performed in close collaboration with the IEA H2 Technology Collaborative Platform Task 47 which is focusing on the technical and implementation aspects of certification mechanisms.

Hydrogen Skills (H2 Skills)
Task Force

  • The task force Hydrogen Skills Task Force (H2 Skills-TF) aims at advancing hydrogen skills and workforce development
    and at enabling knowledge sharing between countries and to develop resources that can be used to help countries streamline and complement their hydrogen skills development efforts.

  • The H2Skills-TF is undertaking a comparative analysis of skills needs assessments done by countries and aims to develop a database of hydrogen value chain roles, competencies, curricula, and available training, including any accreditation of hydrogen-related competencies. It will also focus on approaches to estimate hydrogen workforces and the reporting of workforce statistics. These resources should enable countries to identify potential skills gaps and workforce supply and demand imbalances to initiate targeted interventions to develop skilled and capable hydrogen workforces in line with how their hydrogen economies are expected to develop.

  • The work of the task force will also focus on sharing experiences in the transitioning of workers from other sectors and initiatives to promote Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Accessibility (DEIA). The task force will also explore the potential for coordination and integration of skills development efforts, and the potential for standardizing and international accreditation of training for hydrogen-related competencies.

  • The establishment of the IPHE H2Skills-TF and active participation by IPHE member countries demonstrates a commitment to collaborate and contribute to hydrogen skills and workforce development globally. Representatives of governments, institutions and organisations actively engaged in hydrogen skills and workforce development are encouraged to reach out to the IPHE H2Skills-TF to create awareness of their own initiatives and share their insights, and thus to contribute to this international effort to advance skills and workforce development for the hydrogen economy.

  • Send enquiries to: media@iphe.net

Hydrogen Trade Rules (H2TR) 
Task Force

  • For hydrogen to be a practical solution in the energy transition, it must be available in sufficient volumes, at an acceptable cost, and with low or zero carbon emissions associated with its production and distribution. Achieving this will require hydrogen to be transported and traded internationally.

  • Aim is to examines the potential for future international hydrogen trade and identifies potential barriers, hurdles, and considerations to explore now to ensure appropriate future trading conditions. The discussion paper does not seek to make recommendations, set policy, or design trading frameworks. Instead, it identifies areas for further analysis and questioning, outlining potential opportunities to support market transparency and future large-scale international trade in hydrogen.

  • Please see the IPHE  Discussion Paper Trade Rules for Hydrogen and its Carriers: Information and Issues for Consideration February 2022. 

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