Hydrogen Combustion Risk Analysis (HCRA)

Are Your Systems and Components Safe for Use With Hydrogen?

As the hydrogen economy grows, industry standards and guidelines are struggling to keep up and can be difficult to navigate. For many new applications, hydrogen-specific standards do not yet exist, and industry is dependent on risk analysis to avoid hydrogen combustion events. WHA International is paving the way to help ensure a safe future for everyone involved with hydrogen.

Your Hydrogen Safety Experts

For over 35 years, WHA International has helped industries around the world understand and mitigate the risks associated with oxygen, hydrogen, and other hazardous fluids. Based on our experience and knowledge of established methodologies, we’ve developed a Hydrogen Combustion Risk Analysis (HCRA) method customized to the unique hazards of hydrogen today.

The HCRA Approach

Our hydrogen risk analysis approach sets the bar for industry, providing technical risk analysis for your unique installation and operating conditions. The approach is specific to hydrogen and analyzes the probability of operations and failure modes that can lead to combustible mixtures and ignition events resulting in fire, deflagration, and/or detonation. It also considers the consequence of combustion as they relate to personnel safety, effects on equipment, and impact to business objectives. Our analysis may be supported by quantitative data, modeling, and/or custom testing.

Services include:

System documentation
Component information review
System-level hazard analysis
Design review (overall system design and relationships between subsystems and components)
Administrative controls review (operating, maintenance, emergency, and training procedures)
Material compatibility analysis
Combustion consequence and secondary effects analysis
Component analysis

Hydrogen Combustion Risk Analysis Types

Our risk analysis solutions can be applied to both components and systems utilizing hydrogen or hydrogen blends.

System-Level

Analyzes the overall risks and relationships between components and subsystems within a hydrogen system. Considers design as well as operational and administrative controls.

Component-Level

Analyzes the parts, materials, and overall risks within components intended for use in hydrogen systems.

Hydrogen Combustion Risk Analysis Levels

We offer combustion risk analyses at several different levels, depending on the level of detail you need.

Level 1: HHC

Hydrogen Hazard Consult

High-level review intended to provide rapid feedback. Typically appropriate for verbal remote review.

Level 2: HHR

Hydrogen Hazards Review

Same approach as Level 1, but includes a short summary report documenting the results.

Level 3: HCRA