This chapter focuses on the legislative basis for the operation and maintenance of hydrogen filling stations (HFS). The legislation related to the design of HFS is also related to this issue, therefore part of this chapter is also devoted to this issue. Compliance with legislative regulations is essential to ensure the safe operation of the HFS and to ensure its longevity. In this chapter, the reader is introduced to the basic terminology according to the current legislation and an explanation of the basic concepts. Legislation within the EU is determined by European standards, but some operational and technical details may be specified in national regulations, such as fire regulations. The main international organisations that issue technical standards are ISO (International Organisation for Standardisation), IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) and SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers). Within these organisations, standards are developed by TC (Technical Committee) members of CEN (European Committee for Standardisation) and CENELEC (European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardisation) members. The development of legislative standards is very rapid and, in the context of the development of hydrogen technology, there is a constant evolution and amendment of existing standards and the creation of new ones. [17]

The main CEN/CENELEC TCs for hydrogen-related standards are:

 CEN/CLC/TC 6 - Hydrogen

 CEN/TC 23 Transportable gas cylinders

 CEN/TC 69 Industrial valves

 CEN/TC 185 Fasteners

 CEN/TC 197 Pumps

 CEN/TC 234 Gas infrastructure

 CEN/TC 235 Gas pressure regulators and related safety equipment for use in the gas industry gas transmission and distribution;

 CEN/TC 236 Non-industrial manually operated shut-off valves for gas and gas distribution special valve combinations - other products

 CEN/TC 238 Test gases, test pressures, appliance categories and gas appliances.

Types

 CEN/TC 268 Cryogenic vessels and specific applications of hydrogen technology commission.

As the issues and scope of these standards are beyond the scope of this module, standards specifically related to the construction and operation of HFS will be described below. [17]

Legislation on HFS in the EU is regulated mainly by the following standards [12]:

Hydrogen filling stations – EN 17127 - Outdoor dispensing hydrogen gas filling stations with filling protocols; ISO 19880-1:2020 - Hydrogen gas - Filling stations - Part 1: General requirements

Hydrogen properties – EN 17124 - Hydrogen fuel - Product specification and quality assurance for hydrogen gas dispensing stations - Proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell applications for vehicles

Filling process – EN 17127 (refers to SAE J2601) - Filling protocols for light surface hydrogen gas vehicles

SAE J2799 – Hardware and software for communication between hydrogen surface vehicles and stations

Filling connections – EN ISO 17268 - Connection devices for filling hydrogen gas into surface vehicles.

Before discussing the individual standards it is essential to become familiar with the basic terminology. For ease of reference, the Czech standard TPG 304 03 - Hydrogen gas filling stations for mobile equipment has been developed to simplify the basic orientation necessary for the design, construction, manufacture, operation and maintenance of HFS.  From this standard, the necessary terms of basic terminology are elaborated. Knowledge of this terminology is necessary for correct orientation not only in legislative documents, but also in technical regulations and technical literature.