Hydrogen offers significant potential to become a cornerstone of greener energy supply, but work is needed on assessing risks and ensuring suitable insurance for production, transport and storage, HDI Global says.

“Although we typically see a high level of safety built into hydrogen projects, the biggest challenge we face is to open the eyes of project owners that legal compliance does not necessarily mean safety in all aspects,” HDI Risk Engineering Manager Asia Pacific Philipp Glanz says.

Germany has accelerated international negotiations to reduce its energy dependence on Russia following the war on Ukraine and a delegation from business, science and politics visited Perth, Sydney and Brisbane late last month to discuss hydrogen projects and possibilities.

Fortescue Future Industries and Germany-based Covestro earlier this year entered into a memorandum of understanding around long-term supply.

Australia has the resources and skills to become a major global supplier, but considerable investment is required, a paper released by the Australian Hydrogen Council last year said.

“We think the hype is justified, although there is still much work to be done to be able to safely and efficiently produce and transport hydrogen in commercially viable quantities,” HDI Global Underwriting Manager Engineering for Australasia Haris Michaels said.

HDI Global says a one-product-fits-all approach does not necessarily work with hydrogen and it has found the best approach is to sit down with clients to look at custom-made solutions for risk determination and mitigation.