Requirements management and the preparation of Regulations, Codes and Standards (RCS) through pre-normative work are a cross-cutting function and extend across all hydrogen and fuel cell applications. A wide variety of projects are being conducted and committees established worldwide in the field of hydrogen and fuel cell technology. The result is a multitude of different technical requirements for partly identical technologies.
It should be ensured that the handling for the end customer is simple, efficient, and safe. Harmonization of regulations, codes and standards at the international level is therefore essential, as most hydrogen and fuel cell players operate internationally.
Globally uniform rules and approval procedures accelerate market introduction and provide consumers with standardized products that are safe, affordable, and easy to use. A trend can be seen, for example, in the production and application of hydrogen/fuel cell products. This is increasingly subject to internationally valid sets of rules (e.g. UN, EC) and standards (e.g. ISO, IEC).
It is therefore necessary for research and development projects to deal with, among other things, requirements management for individual materials, components, as well as for entire systems, at an early stage. Only in this way can the players develop high-quality, efficient, and marketable products that can survive on the international sales market. At the same time, however, uniform procedures and methods must be developed to enable prenormative work and thus create the basis for important RCS topics.
