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Hydrogen Facilities: Laying the Groundwork for Safety Integration into the Built Environment

As hydrogen continues to emerge as a critical component of the clean energy transition, code officials are uniquely positioned to ensure its safe and responsible integration into the built environment. Understanding hydrogen’s properties, hazards and applicable codes and standards is not just beneficial—it is essential.

Hydrogen is gaining renewed attention as a cornerstone of the evolving clean energy landscape. As an energy carrier, it offers remarkable versatility and potential across a broad spectrum of applications.

With a high energy density by weight, hydrogen can be efficiently converted into mechanical work or heat, making it an invaluable resource in supporting diverse energy and industrial processes. Perhaps most compelling is its environmental profile: when used in a fuel cell to provide energy, the only byproducts are water and heat—completely avoiding production of greenhouse gases.

Historically, hydrogen has been crucial in industries like petroleum refining, fertilizer manufacturing and glass production. Recently, its use has expanded to powering industrial forklifts and medium- to heavy-duty transportation such as buses, rail systems and long-haul trucks. In some regions, it is blended into natural gas pipelines for residential and power generation.

Hydrogen is currently being examined for various new applications, including:

• Maritime port operations, where it powers cargo-handling equipment
• Aviation, such as zero-emission aircraft and ground-support activities
• Stationary backup power systems 

These uses underscore hydrogen’s role in the shift to a low-carbon future.

Hazards

Owing to its low molecular weight, hydrogen can easily permeate materials that are not typically considered porous. Upon release, its high energy content can result in ignition events that are more intense than those associated with other common fuels.

Gaseous hydrogen storage pressures can exceed 12,000 psi, and in its liquid form, it is stored at cryogenic temperatures near –423°F. Hydrogen can cause embrittlement in various metals and deformation in certain polymers, which can lead to leaks in piping and other equipment. Furthermore, hydrogen can be ignited by energy sources 50 times smaller than a typical static electric charge, potentially leading to fires and explosions.

Hydrogen has a broad flammability range of four percent to 75 percent in the air. When ignited in its pure form, it burns with a pale blue, nearly invisible flame that emits minimal radiant heat, making detection challenging without thermal imaging cameras. Hydrogen also exhibits a high burning velocity, resulting in rapid combustion of hydrogen-air mixtures and increasing the potential for deflagrations and detonations, which produce damaging pressure waves.

Comprehensive Analysis of Battery and Energy Storage Systems: The AH-BES Committee Report

The rapid advancement of lithium-ion battery technology has introduced a series of challenges for various stakeholders. The International Code Council has developed a roadmap to bridge the gaps in codes related to the use, manufacturing, storage, testing and recycling of batteries and energy storage systems (ESS). Key challenges highlighted in the report include limited code requirements, inadequate training and the need for expanded media outreach and guidance.

Committee Composition Experts from diverse fields such as fire safety, engineering, architecture, and battery manufacturing composed the committee. It was divided into four workgroups: 

• Personal Mobility and Electric Vehicles 
• Residential Energy Storage Systems 
• Commercial and Utility-Based ESS
• Manufacturing, Storage, and Recycling 

NIST Releases Preliminary Findings on Hurricane Maria

Preliminary findings reveal that infrastructure vulnerabilities tied to building performance played a crucial role in the storm’s devastating aftermath, causing damage to the built environment across impacted areas. Recommendations from the Hurricane Maria Program are expected to result in wind speed standards, storm shelter and refuge standards and critical facility resilience measures.

On July 14, 2025, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) released the initial findings of its investigation into Hurricane Maria’s impact on the U.S. (note the final report is not slated to be published until 2026). While these preliminary findings are therefore subject to change, the International Code Council expects several key recommendations to intersect directly with our mission and existing building codes.

Preliminary findings reveal that infrastructure vulnerabilities tied to building performance played a crucial role in the storm’s devastating aftermath, causing damage to the built environment across impacted areas

Earn CEUs! Upcoming ICC Training Opportunities This August

2021 Plan Review Institute – In-Person Event!

Don’t miss out on this 5-day Plan Review Institute in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. This Institute will focus on the knowledge and skills necessary to perform a plan review referencing the 2021 International Residential Code® (IRC®) and the structural and nonstructural provisions of the International Building Code® (IBC®).

• Duration: 5 days; 30 hours (3.0 CEUs)
• Price: $850 (Member) | $1,020 (Non-Member) Members save $170!
• Format: In-Person
• Location: The Ellie Beach Resort Myrtle Beach, Tapestry by Hilton
  3200 S Ocean Blvd. Myrtle Beach, SC 29577 Book Hotel
• Dates: 9/22/2025 9:00 AM ET – 9/26/2025 4:00 PM ET Register

Featured Training

For those who use the social media (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn) tag #COSD25, we will select 5 people at random on August 9th to send a CEOSF swag package to.

For anyone who posts a photo in body armor and tags us and #COSD25, we will select 5 people to win a free training scholarship for High Risk Case Management. Let’s get posting!