With the advancement of global energy transition and climate neutrality strategy, hydrogen energy, as a clean, safe and reliable energy carrier, is increasingly being valued. However, the high flammability, colorless and odorless characteristics of hydrogen make its safety risks in production, transportation and use not to be ignored. If we want to fully utilize hydrogen, we must ensure that the hydrogen treatment process is sufficiently safe, and only mature safety guidelines in the automation industry can achieve this.

Hydrogen energy can be applied in industries such as steel manufacturing, glass industry, etc. It can also be used as fuel for transportation or converted into electricity, so the application range of hydrogen energy is very wide. The high flammability and imperceptible nature of hydrogen also pose certain safety challenges for applications. Once accidents occur during production, transportation, or use, they can cause significant harm to people, factories, and the environment. Through its rich experience and technological accumulation in the automation industry, Pirci can provide a series of safety measures for the hydrogen energy industry.

Pirci: The Safety Guardian of the Hydrogen Energy Industry
In the hydrogen industry, safe solutions typically involve material properties and appropriate mechanical dimensions, such as the sturdier the shut-off valve, the safer it is to use. By combining mature automation technology with traditional safety functions, it is possible to dynamically monitor pressure and temperature, as well as whether they comply with the load range of downstream devices.

Pearson’s safety solutions cover the entire process from hydrogen production to use, providing added value to the entire hydrogen value chain. Pearson’s control system can reliably detect gas leaks through gas detector evaluation, and safely monitor temperature, pressure, filling capacity, voltage, and current. In emergency situations, the system can detect faults within milliseconds and quickly activate predefined safety measures.

In the production process of hydrogen energy, functional safety is achieved by using the safety analog input on the PNOZmulti 2 small safety controller or PSS 4000 automation system from Pirlo Magnetic. In addition, any form of misoperation can be prevented through access and permission management systems.

A comprehensive solution covering functional safety and industrial information security
Pearson’s overall approach includes not only functional safety, but also industrial information security, protecting production and industrial equipment from misoperation or abuse – whether intentional or unintentional. If attackers have the opportunity to infiltrate automation and control systems, the security of factories, ultimately humans, and the environment may also be threatened. For example, remote connection to a hydrogen production container to check system status must be protected, otherwise safety related parts of the system may be controlled or modified without authorization. Pilz’s Security Bridge industrial security firewall can prevent this situation. Within the control network, all connections between engineering, diagnostic, or configuration tools and controllers are protected against misoperation and allow for secure external connections.

By accessing the PITreater permission system and corresponding RFID electronic keys, factories can be protected from unauthorized access. Access permissions can also be reliably controlled separately, and all operations by operators can only be carried out after checking and approving permissions.

Pilz’s automation solutions for the hydrogen energy industry have the following advantages:
Comprehensive safety function control and monitoring: Monitor all safety related functions such as pressure, temperature, current, voltage, as well as leak, gas, and flame detection.
Certified hardware: PNOZmulti 2 and PSS 4000 hardware certified up to SIL 3, compliant with EN IEC 61511 standard; Meet the requirements of EN IEC 61508.
● Intuitive software tools: configurable functional blocks – no programming skills required.
● High productivity: Improve productivity through integrated diagnostics and comprehensive visualization options.
Pirci provides strong security for the hydrogen energy industry with its professional automation solutions. From production to use, Pirelli’s comprehensive safety solutions ensure that every link in the hydrogen value chain is safe and reliable.