HYDROGEN STATION TESTING DEVICES

Powertech designed and built the Hydrogen Station Equipment Performance (HyStEP) testing device.

The device—the first of its kind in North America—ensures public hydrogen refueling stations meet industry standards and significantly accelerates station commissioning.

The HyStEP device is a mobile system built into a trailer and capable of simulating a range of fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs). The on-board fuel system includes three Type IV 70 MPa tanks, with the capacity for storing a total of 9 kg of hydrogen, and monitors various pressures, temperatures, and communications data. The device is able to perform key tests defined in CSA HGV 4.3, including communication, non-communication and fault detection tests at 35 and 70 MPa in accordance with the hydrogen fueling protocol SAE J2601.

The HyStEP device allows hydrogen stations to be validated in as little as one week and eliminates the need to use actual FCEVs from different manufacturers to perform a series of validation tests on each hydrogen station, a process that used to take several months.

The device was designed and built for Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Fuel Cell Technology Office as part of the H2FIRST project.