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, including as convener of a working group 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,” 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.”
“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.“
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 ISO working group 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.
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.
Plenary Meeting
Chair the Working Group 2 (WG 2) meeting
Chair the Working Group 2 (WG 2) meeting
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.
Left to Right – Delegates of the United States, Czech Republic, Republic of Korea
The United States (ANSI) delegates
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.
To read the full article, visit MI Hydrogen.