Cluster catch-up: HYEX Safety
“Safety must be an integral part of the design phase from the beginning, so that potential consequences from hydrogen leaks and failures are understood and risk to people and assets minimised. ”
In the last cluster catch-up, Hexagon Purus Maritime pointed out the importance of the industry moving from small pilot projects to larger commercial vessels with fully integrated fuel systems on board. Now it’s HYEX Safety’s turn!
Eirik Søreide Hansen, Co-founder and safety consultant in HYEX Safety.
HYEX Safety eagerly accepted the nomination from Hexagon Purus Maritime to be the next member in Cluster Catch-up. HYEX Safety provide expert advice within hydrogen and gas safety, such as documenting risk for permitting processes with authorities, regulators and classification societies. We had a chat with Eirik Søreide Hansen, Co-founder and Safety consultant, about the daily life in HYEX Safety.
What is HYEX Safety’s primary focus right now?
We have lots of exciting projects and enjoy being able to help as many clients as possible. However, we have started to notice that our capacity isn’t unlimited. We have employed a new person to our team, joining now in October. Our primary focus will be to properly introduce the new colleague to HYEX and figure out how to best work together.
What are the biggest challenges and opportunities for HYEX Safety in the future?
We can start with the challenges we face. As mentioned above, we have a limited capacity and will have to grow sustainably in the years to come. The demand for our services is high and will probably only increase in the coming years with more hydrogen and ammonia projects being initiated. We know that safety can often be the difference between a successful or a failed project, and we must ensure that we don’t become a bottleneck for the industry.
Our greatest opportunity is capitalising on the great position we find ourselves in and managing to expand our capacity to support customers. Through a varied portfolio of projects in several countries we are continuously improving our understanding of how the safety of hydrogen and ammonia systems can best be ensured, risk assessed and documented for approval. We hope to make a difference, contributing to setting "Safety First" and at the same time help our customers finding cost-efficient and optimal solutions.
How can hydrogen be a part of the solution for the future?
Hydrogen is highly explosive, and good and safe solutions for handling the gas must be developed if hydrogen is to be part of the future. Scaling up, we may see an increasing number of minor leaks and incidents from different vessels or facilities, and inevitably a few significant events. Safety must be an integral part of the design phase from the beginning, so that potential consequences from hydrogen leaks and failures are understood and risk to people and assets minimised. Projects not taking safety seriously can damage the reputation of the whole industry.
“You think safety is expensive? Try an accident! ”
What is your primary focus when it comes to sustainability?
Hydrogen solutions must be safe, but also cost-efficient to be sustainable. It is therefore imperative to combine understanding of hydrogen safety with practical design consideration when optimising hydrogen facilities or vessels. It is particularly rewarding when plans for copy-and-paste building additional units are announced after a concept has reached a milestone in the permitting process.
Why did you decide on becoming a member of Ocean Hyway Cluster?
We had several clients in the cluster and saw that some of the cluster projects were interesting. Further, we wanted an arena to network and exchange opinions, and the OHC seemed attractive in this regard, with great people and concrete projects, along with an interesting conference each fall.
Curious to know more about their work on safety? HYEX Safety will share their experience about safety on land vs at sea at the Maritime Hydrogen Conference, 1 – 2. November in Florø, Norway. Feel free to check out the full agenda on the website.
More Cluster catch-up
Maria Benæs Hunvik
Communications Advisor
+47 954 57 606
maria.hunvik@oceanhywaycluster.no
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