U-M drives hydrogen safety standards for global transition to clean energy
By Wendy Sutton, Office of the Vice President for Research
A 1997 hydrogen pipeline leak at a New Mexico refinery sparked a fire that halted operations and cost millions of dollars in damages. The cause was hydrogen embrittlement, a process in which hydrogen atoms infiltrate steel, weakening it and causing rapidly spreading cracks.
This incident highlights a critical barrier to hydrogen’s promise as a clean energy source: ensuring its safe storage and transport. As industries worldwide turn to hydrogen to power aerospace, transportation and large manufacturing operations, the University of Michigan is leading a global effort to address this challenge through new international standards.
Hydrogen’s small atoms can penetrate metals such as steel, especially under high pressure, causing brittleness and cracking. This degradation can lead to leaks, shortened lifespan of storage systems or even catastrophic failures—major obstacles to scaling hydrogen safely.
To address this challenge, Yugo Ashida, senior research area specialist in the Department of Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences and manager of the MI Hydrogen Initiative, is leading an international effort to develop a solution. As convener of ISO Technical Committee 156 Working Group 2, he and his team are developing a new global standard for testing fracture toughness in hydrogen gas environments.
“Establishing robust, science-driven standards is essential not only for safety but also for the future of clean energy. As hydrogen technologies rapidly evolve and deploy, international collaboration, along with collaboration between industry and academia, becomes more important than ever. Our shared goal is to ensure these innovations are as reliable and sustainable as they are transformative.”
“Establishing robust, science-driven standards is essential not only for safety but also for the future of clean energy,” Ashida said. “As hydrogen technologies rapidly evolve and deploy, international collaboration, along with collaboration between industry and academia, becomes more important than ever. Our shared goal is to ensure these innovations are as reliable and sustainable as they are transformative.”
The International Organization for Standardization, or ISO, is an independent international organization that brings experts together to set standards that enhance safety and efficiency across industries, from quality management to artificial intelligence. Ashida’s working group within ISO’s Technical Committee 156 on environmentally assisted cracking oversees more than 50 standards with experts from China, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States. This group is developing its new standards through a six-stage process that begins with a proposal and concludes with publication as a formal ISO standard.
To ensure alignment with hydrogen technology advancements, ISO/TC 156 Working Group 2 is establishing a liaison with ISO’s Technical Committee 197 that focuses on hydrogen technologies. Ashida’s group is also sharing insights with organizations such as the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), the European Committee for Standardization (CEN) and the CEN-CLC coordination group on hydrogen.
Ashida began his role as convener in January 2024, succeeding renowned British corrosion scientist Alan Turnbull. In this role, he manages project timelines, facilitates consensus and ensures clear communication among experts and the ISO Secretariat.
As convener, he is required to maintain neutrality across all participating countries. A veteran of ISO’s Technical Committee 156, Ashida celebrated his 10th year of service at the committee’s 2025 meeting in Xi’an, China.
He also represents the U.S. as an expert in Working Groups 9 and 11, appointed by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), contributing to broader corrosion and standards development.
As manager of the MI Hydrogen Initiative, a U-M joint venture that brings together more than 40 faculty experts in technology, engineering, policy and business, Ashida works with faculty, students and industry partners, alongside co-directors Todd Allen and Gregory Keoleian, to promote hydrogen ecosystem development in Michigan. This experience has helped him strengthen the communication channels at the technical level with industrial stakeholders and international peers in his role as convener, a key step in developing effective standards.
With support from U-M Innovation Partnerships, Ashida founded JOINLU International, a startup that uses artificial intelligence to connect experts and streamline engineering knowledge for applications such as hydrogen infrastructure.
Now, he plans to apply similar innovations to the ISO working group, enhancing coordination of international research, accelerating knowledge sharing and bringing AI-assisted tools to standards development.
The global hydrogen economy holds great promise to power zero-emission vehicles and factories while reducing carbon emissions and creating clean energy jobs. However, safe and reliable infrastructure is critical to unlocking that potential. Ashida’s work addresses risks like the 1997 refinery fire by bringing together experts from around the world and implementing standards that keep pace with evolving technologies.
Through these efforts, he is playing a key role in turning hydrogen’s promise into a practical, sustainable and safe reality for industries and communities worldwide.