About us

About us

Our history

The International Association for Hydrogen Safety (HySafe) is a non-profit organisation founded in 2009 in Brussels, Belgium.
HySafe aims to facilitate the safe adoption of hydrogen as an energy carrier by advancing safety measures and coordinating research efforts.

HySafe emerged from the European Commission’s Network of Excellence (NoE) initiative, which sought to reduce
fragmentation in hydrogen safety research. Today, HySafe brings together partners from research institutions, government bodies, universities, automotive manufacturers, energy companies, and other stakeholders, fostering collaboration beyond traditional barriers.

By integrating research, education, and industry perspectives, HySafe supports the development of solutions in hydrogen safety, addressing critical challenges in the commercialisation of hydrogen technologies.

Vision

To be the leading global association committed to promoting and facilitating the safe adoption of hydrogen technologies across the globe, contributing to a sustainable and low-carbon energy future.

Mission

Support the development
and dissemination of hydrogen safety knowledge.

Advocate for the inclusion of safety measures in the deployment of hydrogen
technologies.

Facilitate collaboration
among industry, academia, and regulatory bodies.

Provide educational
resources and training to
enhance safety practices
within the hydrogen industry.

Promote cost-effective, coordinated basic and applied research in the field of hydrogen safety.

Facilitate the coordination, maintenance, and future development of innovative infrastructure for hydrogen safety research.

Objectives

Cost effective, coordinated research
Communication between stakeholders
Maintenance development of infrastructure
Education and training for continuing education
Disseminate knowledge
Support to agencies, industry, RCS organisations

Executive directors

President:

Nick Smith

Global Decarbonisation Advisory
(Australia)

nick.smith@gda2050.com

Bio

Nick is the Managing Director of Global Decarbonisation Advisory, bringing together people, projects and capital to accelerate decarbonisation in an economical and sustainable manner across the world.
Nick is the current President of the International Association for Hydrogen Safety (HySafe), is a member of the International Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Association’s Technical Committee and has extensive experience as an executive and non-executive director predominantly in Australia.
Nick is recognised for delivering world leadership in decarbonisation across the energy sector and mineral extraction and processing sector in Australia. Prior to commencing GDA, Nick held a range of senior executive and leadership roles across government, gas and construction materials sectors delivering strategy, policy and commercial advice along with full accountability for business performance and profitability.
Nick holds a Masters degree in Business Administration, is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Energy. 

Vice President:

Lee Phillips

Shell
(Netherlands)

lee.phillips@shell.com

Bio

Lee has 30 years’ experience in Shell as Senior Technical Safety Engineer with extensive experience in large scale major hazards research.
Supporting the Shell Hydrogen business for the last 10yrs and currently lead the global Hydrogen codes and standards program, H2 safety gap-closure strategy and R&D program.
Recognised as a respected member of the international Hydrogen safety community I sit on the Scientific Advisory Board and Steering Committees of several Joint Industry Projects and represent Shell on international standards committees and industry associations.

Treasurer:

Chris LaFleur

Sandia National
Laboratories (U.S.)

aclafle@sandia.gov

Bio

Chris LaFleur is the manager of the Risk & Reliability Analyses Department at Sandia Nation Labs in Albuquerque, NM.  Chris’ main research focus involves evaluating fire risks for emerging energy technologies.  Chris is a licensed professional engineer and serves as the Chair of NFPA 2, Hydrogen Technologies Code and on the Center for Hydrogen Safety’s Hydrogen Safety Panel.  Chris earned a B.S. in Geology and Mechanical Engineering from the University of Rochester, an M.S. in Fire Protection Engineering from the University of Maryland and a Doctorate of Engineering in Manufacturing Engineering from the University of Michigan.

Board members

Carl Regis Bauwens

Regis Bauwens

Fm Global (U.S.)

carl.bauwens@fmglobal.com

Bio


Dr. C. Regis Bauwens is a Senior Lead Research Scientist at FM, where he currently serves as Technical Team Leader for the Explosion and Blast Research group and holds a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from McGill University. Over his 18-year career at FM, he has gained extensive experience performing large-scale experimental studies and developing analytical and numerical modeling tools for industrial safety applications. In his work, Dr. Bauwens has conducted in-depth research on topics related to hydrogen safety, including deflagration venting, vapor cloud explosions, dispersion analysis, and large-scale flame propagation. Dr. Bauwens is an active member of several professional committees, including the NFPA Technical Committee on Explosion Protection Systems, and serves on the board of directors of the Institute on the Dynamics of Explosions and Reactive Systems.

Prof. Vladimir Molkov

Ulster University (UK)

v.molkov@ulster.ac.uk

Bio

Professor Vladimir Molkov, MSc Quantum Radiophysics; PhD Chemical Physics; DSc Fire and Explosion Safety. Fellow of HEA, Cartered Engeneer, Fellow of EI, Chartered Energy Engineer. Director of Hydrogen Safety Engineering and Research Centre at Ulster University, a key provider of hydrogen safety research and education globally. Chair of Education Committee of IA HySafe. Membership: UN GTR#13, SGS; ISO/TC197; CEN/CENELEC/JTC6; IEA Task 43; Committees of 5 International Conferences, Editorial Boards of 4 journals, etc. Coordination and contribution to 42 national and EU projects in hydrogen safety with income £12M. 400+ publications, e-Book “Fundamentals of Hydrogen Safety Engineering” (www.bookboon.com), 15 inventions.

Huahua Xiao

University of Science
and Technology of
China (China)

xiaoh@ustc.edu.cn

Bio

Prof. Huahua Xiao is a Professor in the State Key Laboratory of Fire Science at the University of Science and Technology of China. Prof. Xiao have been dedicated to fire and explosion dynamics, CFD modeling, and hydrogen safety. He is currently an editorial board member of Hydrogen Safety.

Jennifer Wen

University of Surrey
(UK)

jennifer.wen@surrey.ac.uk

Bio

Jennifer Wen is Professor in Energy Resilience at University of Surrey, UK. She is a Fellow of Royal Academy of Engineering (FREng), Associate Editor for the Proceedings of the Combustion Institute, Vice Chair of the International Association for Fire Safety Sciences, Chair of Explosion Liaison Group and a member of BSI PVE/3/8 Gas containers – Hydrogen technologies, the British mirror committee of ISO TC197. Jennifer specialises in consequences analysis of both gaseous and liquid hydrogen covering jets and/or catastrophic releases, ignition, fire and explosions including vapour cloud explosions and deflagration to detonation transition. She has extensive international collaboration across stakeholders from different sectors.

Enis Askar

Federal Institute for
Materials Research
and Testing (BAM)
(Germany)

enis.askar@bam.de

Bio

Enis is a Research Associate in the division “Safety of Energy Carriers” at BAM Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing in Berlin, Germany and coordinator of the competence field “Process and Plant Safety” of the competence center H2Safety@BAM. Graduated in Industrial Engineering, subject area: Technical Chemistry and PhD in the field of Plant and Safety Engineering at the Technical University of Berlin. Member of working groups in international standardization bodies of ISO/TC197 and CEN/TC305, the scientific committee of the “International Conference of Hydrogen Safety” and the editorial board of the journal “Hydrogen Safety”. Main research areas: safety related properties of hydrogen mixtures, safe operation of hydrogen technologies and explosion protection.

Ahmed Nossair

Enbridge (Canada)

Ahmed.Nossair@enbridge.com

Bio

Ahmed is a transformational leader with vast experience in engineering, operations, maintenance, and project management within the energy sector. Expertise in new energy technologies such as hydrogen production, carbon capture, and renewable natural gas. Led multi-discipline engineering teams and managed low-carbon projects. Successfully delivered various technical standards and green energy feasibility studies. Technical prowess coupled with strategic acumen to support organizational growth and operational excellence.

Secretariat

Alex Borovskis

Alex Borovskis

Helixos (Australia)

alex@helixos.co

Bio

Alex is the co-founder of Helixos and a global cleantech leader with extensive experience in the energy industry. His team specialises in bringing cutting-edge research to market by providing commercialisation, strategic communications, and technical advisory services to global research organisations, investors, technology developers, end-users, and governments.

James Stanley

James Stanley

Helixos (Australia)

james@helixos.co

Bio


James is a strategy and commercialisation consultant with global experience across North America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific regions. With a background in mechanical engineering, James supports the development and deployment of innovative energy technologies, focusing on commercialisation efforts for research organisations, investors, technology developers, end-users, and governments.

Contact Information

Secretarial email

info@hysafe.info