PNNL

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) was given a top honor recently at the Department of Energy's Hydrogen Program annual awards.

DOE gave its Hydrogen Program Special Award to PNNL's Hydrogen Safety Panel (HSP) on June 7, at its 2023 Annual Merit Review and Peer Evaluation Meeting, held near Alexandria, Va.

Each year, DOE’s Hydrogen Program presents awards to partner institutions for contributions to overall program efforts and to recognize research, development, and demonstrated achievements in specific areas.

“The Hydrogen Safety Panel is recognized for its 20 years of outstanding contributions to the safe deployment of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies and R&D activities,” a DOE news release said in recognizing PNNL and its management of the multi-institution HSP. “During its 20 years, the HSP has had 32 panel members, three of whom have participated throughout the entire life of the HSP. Those 32 panel members have performed over 600 reviews of more than 400 projects. The HSP has performed countless site visits and given more than 200 presentations.”

“The HSP consists of a team of engineers, scientists, code officials, safety professionals, equipment providers, and testing and certification experts, all of whom contribute their unique expertise to enabling the safe use and implementation of hydrogen technologies. The HSP was established at PNNL in 2003 with the primary directives of providing safety reviews for DOE-funded hydrogen projects and identifying industry safety gaps. The HSP has since expanded its review efforts through a partnership with the American Institute of Chemical Engineers to create the Center for Hydrogen Safety and continues to have a broad impact across the hydrogen community.”

Nick Barilo, the PNNL-based HSP manager, attended the event and accepted the award on behalf of the Laboratory and fellow panel members.

“For 20 years, that panel has consisted of hydrogen experts from diverse backgrounds and organizations, all with the focus on safety, and all motivated to work toward a common goal,” said Barilo, who also serves as the executive director of the Center for Hydrogen Safety at the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. “The panel’s current membership has more than 700 years of combined expertise evaluating equipment and facilities and making recommendations on best practices for the safe deployment of hydrogen projects. This is a proud moment for the panel members, both present and past, to be recognized for their contributions to safety.”