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FUEL OF THE FUTURE REQUIRES KNOW-HOW TODAY
Thousands will need KnowH2owSM
hydrogen training to manage infrastructure safety
15th February 2002 - A new safety service targeting
all personnel involved in managing the UK's vehicle fuelling
infrastructure of the future has been launched by Air Products,
the global leader in hydrogen supply.
Known as KnowH2owSM Safety Training,
the company is proposing a massive knowledge transfer exercise
from within its own ranks to the thousands of individuals
who will be required to design, install, operate and/or
maintain hydrogen supply and distribution systems, including
hydrogen fuel cell applications. The company estimates that
as many as 10,000 people in the UK will require training
relating to hydrogen use.
Hydrogen is considered by many stakeholders to be the favoured
fuel of the future as Governments, including the UK, wrestle
with the growing problems of global warming and vehicle
emissions, to which carbon-based fuels such as petrol and
diesel are major contributors.
The service is launched just days after the Prime Minister's
chief scientific advisor, Professor David King, called for
a complete ban on the sale of petrol and diesel powered
vehicles in the UK and a study, backed by the US and Californian
Governments shows that pollution from car exhausts causes
asthma.
"This is an important part of the debate about the
fuelling infrastructure of the future that hasn't really
surfaced yet," explains Dina Shah, European fuel cell
energy solutions manager.
"Hydrogen is the favoured source and that means equipping
many people with the knowledge and skills they will need
to operate a hydrogen infrastructure in the UK. Like every
gas, hydrogen has its own properties that mean it has to
be treated in certain ways. As the global leader in hydrogen
supply, we have over 50 years of experience just waiting
to be taught by our people who are living this everyday."
Air Products' KnowH2owSM Safety Training
includes a diverse range of capabilities including: hydrogen
safety training; equipment and operational review; on-site
system audits; safety consultation; safe operating procedures
for laboratory, testing and commercial operation; operational
readiness inspections (ORIs); and emergency response training.
The service was launched in the US in 2001 and has already
had a number of big name companies and public service organisations
as clients, including: General Motors; Ford Motor Company;
Daimler Chrysler; BMW of North America; California Fire
and Police Departments; California Highway Patrol and Quantum
Technologies, Inc.
"Fundamentally, this is about instilling a robust
safety culture to support a national hydrogen infrastructure,"
added Ms Shah. "Our own safety record is second to
none. We are recognised globally as the world's most safety-conscious
gases company."
For the second consecutive year, Air Products and Chemicals,
Inc. earned the top position as the safest among large-scale
chemical manufacturers in the U.S. The company has also
received awards from the European Industrial Gas Association
in recognition of its commitment to safety.
In the last five years, Air Products has worked with a
range of companies and public authorities around the globe
to develop and demonstrate clean transportation and distributed
power technologies. Examples include a partnership with
Westminster City Council to design and construct a hydrogen
fuelling station, while also advising on the handling and
storage of hydrogen for their zero emissions park vehicle.
The company has built 15 hydrogen-fuelling stations worldwide,
including those for Westminster City Council, a fuel cell
boat in Germany and the California Fuel Cell Partnership.
The company, whose European headquarters are in Surrey,
is also part of a Greater London Authority working group
set up to deliver a framework for the planned introduction
of hydrogen fuel cells into London. This project is being
led by the Centre for Energy Policy and Technology at Imperial
College.
The new service is launched in the same week that The Centre
for Transport Policy is running an inaugural "Powering
Future Vehicles" conference at the Millennium Gloucester
Hotel, London, where the UK's future fuelling infrastructure
will be on the agenda.
Air Products Plc is the UK subsidiary of Air Products and
Chemicals, Inc. the world's only combined gases and chemicals
company. Founded more than 60 years ago, the business has
annual revenues of $5.7 billion and operations in 30 countries.
Air Products is a market leader in the global electronics
and chemical processing industries, and a longstanding innovator
in many industrial markets, including coatings, adhesives
and polyurethanes. The company distinguishes itself through
its 18,000 employees who build lasting relationships with
their customers and communities based on understanding,
integrity and passion.
Air Products is the global leader in the development of
hydrogen infrastructures, with several innovative systems
that meet the ever-increasing current and future market
requirements. These include hydrogen pipelines, localised
hydrogen production from natural gas, ship and tanker distribution
networks, and specialised renewable sourced hydrogen generation,
all of which meet the ever-increasing current and future
market requirements.
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