Professor Chong Soo Lee of POSTECH’s Graduate Institute of Ferrous & Energy Materials Technology (GIFT) in collaboration with the Korea Testing Laboratory (KTL) has created two ISO standards for evaluating hydrogen embrittlement safety of materials, one of key hydrogen energy technologies.

The two standards are for the comprehensive hydrogen embrittlement test, including high-pressure tests, electrochemical tests, and salt water spray tests to evaluate the safety of hydrogen vulnerability. This is an essential method for evaluating the safety of materials used in building hydrogen energy infrastructure.

Hydrogen embrittlement is a phenomenon in which hydrogen is absorbed into a metal, weakening the mechanical properties. When it occurs in metals such as steel, serious accidents can occur including destruction of large machines or structures.

Hydrogen energy has been attracting attention as an alternative to overcoming the climate crisis caused by excessive carbon use. Although technologies such as hydrogen station construction that increases the efficiency of hydrogen fuel cells are set to be commercialized, evaluation technologies and international standards for hydrogen vulnerability of materials had not been established yet.

The research team led by Professor Chong Soo Lee and KTL have established international standards through joint research over the past decade. The enactment of this international standard is significant in that Korea can secure technological leadership when building hydrogen energy infrastructure in the future.

The two international standards created and revised are ISO 16573-1: 2015 (established), 2020 (revised) and ISO 16573-2: 2022 (established).