The California Department of Food and Agriculture proposes to amend the state’s fuel quality standard for hydrogen used in internal combustion engines and fuel cells, reports the California Fuel Cell Partnership.
The department wants to adopt SAE standard J2719 to replace California Code of Regulations, Title 4, Division 9, Chapter 6, Article 8 regarding hydrogen fuel, according to the Partnership.
Standards development organizations create universally accepted rules that are designed to avoid giving unfair advantage to one industry or company over another, allow room for innovation and provide a choice of suppliers. Standards often take years to develop and test, the Partnership notes.
To speed up the timeline, California adopted an interim standard in 2008 that the Division of Measurement Standards could use to develop testing procedures. If California had waited for the SAE standard to be finalized, it would have taken several more years to develop procedures that the Division of Measurement Standards needs to test the quality of hydrogen fuel used in vehicles.
This amendment replaces California’s interim standard with the SAE standard. It’s a small formality, but a vital step in selling hydrogen in California and nationwide, the Partnership says.
