OMNI Features｜Korea Set to Loosen Explosion-Related Restrictions on HRS for Enhanced Expansion / EEW Loads Out First Hai Long Pin Piles / Ocean Wind Partners with Zelim to Test with AI-Tech for Saving Lives regarding Floating Offshore Wind

｜South Korea Set to Loosen Explosion-Related Restrictions on HRS for Enhanced Expansion
The South Korean government today (Friday) unveiled plans to ease safety regulations for Hydrogen Refueling Stations (HRS) as part of plans to boost their numbers to 458 by 2030, up from the current 192.

Key among the proposed changes is the removal of the requirement for hydrogen equipment to be at least 12 metres away from surrounding buildings. This rule has limited the number of possible locations an HRS can be built, especially in South Korea's densely populated cities. The government plans to replace the HRS distance restrictions with a new requirement for "protective walls" that must be made of reinforced concrete, concrete blocks and/or steel plates— in order to protect third-party property in the event of an explosion.

South Korea is relying on the creation of a "hydrogen economy" based on imported clean H2 in order to reach net zero by 2050, due to the perception that it does not have enough available land for a sufficient volume of renewable energy projects. But the country's plans suffered a setback in May 2019 when a hydrogen storage tank exploded at a government research project in the city of Gangneung, killing 2 people and injuring 6, while destroying a complex about half the size of a football pitch.

The explosion, which a preliminary investigation determined was caused by a spark after oxygen leaked into the H2 tank, increased safety concerns and led to local protests around the country against new hydrogen developments. Then a month later, in June 2019, a hydrogen filing station exploded in Sandvika, Norway, injured 2 people driving past when the explosion set off their vehicles' airbags, according to local broadbaster NRK. This incident, coming so soon after the fatal Korean explosion, did not exactly ease the concerns of South Korean residents.

"Despite regulatory improvements so far, regulations that limit the installation and operation of charging stations remain," explains a new document, Field-oriented regulatory innovation plan to foster the world’s No. 1 hydrogen industry, which was published on Friday following an emergency meeting of the country's economic ministers. Further relaxation of hydrogen-related safety regulations proposed in the new document includes removing the need for metal piping in electrolysis systems and a dyke, or "discharge dam", around ammonia storage tanks, which would capture any escaping NH3 in the event of a leak.

Although the government is continuing to invest heavily in hydrogen-powered road transport, the population’s enthusiasm for the alternative fuel seems to be waning. As Hydrogen Insight reported last month, only 4,635 fuel-cell vehicles were registered in South Korea in 2023 — a 54% fall compared to the 10,219 added to the country’s fleet in 2022.

｜EEW Loads Out First Hai Long Pin Piles
EEW KHPC has substantially completed pin piles for the 1 GW Hai Long offshore wind project under the leadership of Northland Power and the load-out is on schedule. At the port of Gwangyang, South Korea, EEW Group has successfully loaded the first batch of 12 subsea foundations, destined for further processing at the port of Tainan in Taiwan and subsequent installation in the designated area. The next shipment is anticipated next month, involving a total of 156 subsea foundations to be transported from Gwangyang port to Taiwan.

Upon the completion of Hai Long, it will be one of the largest offshore wind projects in Taiwan, providing much needed clean energy to the grid and significant long-term, sustainable value to the local economy, it will play an important role in helping Taiwan achieve its renewable energy target of 15 GW of offshore wind to be constructed between 2026 and 2035.

｜Ocean Wind Partners with Zelim to Test with ZOE's AI Technology for Saving Lives
Ocean Winds, a 50-50 joint venture between ENGIE and EDP Renewables, and UK-based startup Zelim have joined forces for a pilot project that will test AI-enabled person detection software for floating offshore wind farms.

The project aims to test and prove Zelim's ZOE technology, AI-enabled software dedicated to person overboard detection that is capable of finding and tracking people, vessels and other objects, in real-time and in harsh maritime conditions. During the collaboration, Zelim will offer continuous monitoring of ZOE's live feed from cameras installed on two turbine foundations on Ocean Winds' 25 MW WindFloat Atlantic project in Portugal.

ZOE will be detecting both people and objects in the waters surrounding the turbines, providing direct alerts to the operation and maintenance control centre in the case of a person falling overboard or an external vessel approaching the floating offshore wind farm to increase the safety and security of the technicians and assets.

WindFloat Atlantic consists of three platforms, each supporting one 8.4-MW Vestas turbine, which are anchored with chains to the seabed and connected to the onshore substation in the Portuguese municipality of Viana do Castelo through a 20-kilometre cable.

Reference: Hydrogeninsight｜reNEWS.BIZ｜offshoreWIND.biz