"Hydrogen Explosion Risk, Ammonia Odor Concern"...Obstacle to Resident Acceptance

[Upcoming Hydrogen Economy]
'Hydrogen Phobia' Originating from Hydrogen Bomb
Resolving Resident Acceptance Key to Distributed Power Generation

"It's like giving all the bombs to a bomb factory."

Local residents and environmental groups are strongly opposing the liquefied hydrogen plant that SKE&S is promoting at the SK Incheon Petrochemical plant. They argue that installing hydrogen-related facilities in a petrochemical plant with a high risk of explosion would significantly threaten the safety of the local community.

Environmental organizations are holding a press conference at Incheon Seo-gu Office to condemn the approval of a hydrogen plant.

Meanwhile, last month SK Ecoplant installed a total of 2.7MW hydrogen fuel cells at Stamford Hospital and Tully Health Center in Connecticut, USA. Above all, hydrogen facilities were introduced in medical institutions where safety is emphasized.

Kathleen Sillard, CEO of Stamford Health, expressed gratitude to SK Ecoplant, saying, "Fuel cells provide uninterrupted electricity 24 hours a day and offer cleaner air, making them a suitable power supply system for hospitals."

Overview of the fuel cell power plant installed by SK Ecoplant Americas at Stamford Hospital in the United States

Although hydrogen is emerging as the next-generation energy source, domestic hydrogen projects are encountering obstacles everywhere. The main issue is local acceptance. The concerns blocking the hydrogen economy are based on the perception that "hydrogen explodes" and "is dangerous." The government's initial push for distributed hydrogen power generation also faces the challenge of resolving local acceptance issues, considering the country's small land area and high population density.

The hydrogen fuel cell power generation project in Songdo, which was canceled at the end of last year, also failed due to a lack of local acceptance. In a survey conducted by the local government targeting about 12,000 Songdo residents, 92% of respondents expressed opposition, mainly due to the perception of high explosion risk.

Also, when purchasing hydrogen cars, people often mention explosion risks, which stem from "hydrogen phobia" derived from hydrogen bombs. Hydrogen bombs have tens to hundreds of times the destructive power of atomic bombs. If a hydrogen bomb exploded over Seoul, it could unleash a terrifying force capable of wiping out the entire city. Most nuclear weapons currently deployed by the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia, and China are hydrogen bombs.

A hydrogen bomb uses an atomic bomb as a trigger to generate temperatures exceeding 100 million degrees Celsius, causing nuclear fusion of hydrogen and increasing the explosive power. Hydrogen alone cannot create the essential high-temperature state.

Moreover, the key materials for hydrogen bombs are deuterium and tritium. These differ from the hydrogen (protium) used as fuel in hydrogen cars or fuel cells. Among hydrogen isotopes on Earth, protium accounts for 99.985%, while deuterium is only 0.015%, making it naturally scarce. Tritium must be artificially produced using deuterium. This means the risk of hydrogen cars or fuel cells exploding on a large scale like hydrogen bombs is very low.

There is also a common misconception that fuel tanks of hydrogen cars or hydrogen refueling stations can explode. Commercially used hydrogen must be compressed at high pressure for storage and transport. The problem is that when metal comes into contact with hydrogen, it absorbs hydrogen and becomes brittle?a phenomenon called hydrogen embrittlement. To prevent this, tanks made of carbon fiber are used.

Carbon fiber tanks tear rather than burst, allowing hydrogen to leak out. Since hydrogen is 14 times lighter than air, leaked hydrogen quickly disperses into the atmosphere. It is difficult for conditions that could cause a natural explosion to form.

When a fire occurred in a hydrogen tanker truck in December 2021, only the hydrogen burned, and the tanker did not explode. The fire was extinguished in about 30 minutes without any casualties.

Also, hydrogen fuel cells operate through chemical reactions using electricity, so there is no combustion process. Unlike fossil fuel power plants, they emit no greenhouse gases, only electricity, heat, and water. Fuel cells are equipped with emergency shutdown devices that activate if gas leaks or changes in pressure or temperature inside the cell are detected.

Compared to hydrogen, ammonia?which is easier to liquefy and has excellent mobility, making it expected to play a role as a hydrogen carrier or in mixed combustion power generation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions?also faces negative perceptions due to its distinctive odor and toxicity.

However, in domestic distribution, most ammonia is transported through underground pipelines, making it unlikely for the general public to come into contact with it. Lotte Fine Chemical, the largest ammonia distributor in Korea, has had no ammonia leakage accidents in over 60 years since its establishment in 1964.

An official from the Korea Gas Safety Corporation, the national hydrogen safety agency, explained, "When building hydrogen refueling stations, a pre-safety impact assessment system is established to implement safety measures, and the evaluation results are disclosed to residents to enhance trust and acceptance."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.