Stacks, purification skids and hydrogen safety systems before first gas
Commissioning software for green hydrogen plants where electrolyser stacks, purification skids and hydrogen safety systems all have to be individually proven before the plant is allowed to produce gas.
A green hydrogen plant pairs electrolyser stacks fed by renewable power with purification, compression and storage systems handling a gas that is unforgiving of shortcuts. Deskely holds every stack, skid and safety device in one register with the hydrogen-specific safety gates — leak testing, purge verification, gas detection — built in ahead of the electrical and process commissioning gates.
- Assets
- Electrolyser stacks, purification skids, compressors
- Test
- Stack commissioning, leak test, purge verification
- Life-safety
- Hydrogen gas detection and ventilation
- Gate
- Fit for first gas
Choose your project type
The problem
An electrolyser hall full of stacks and skids is not fit for first gas until every hydrogen safety system has been proven independently of the process equipment.
Electrolyser stacks, purification skids, compressors and hydrogen storage are supplied by specialist vendors on their own commissioning sequences, while gas detection, ventilation and purge systems have to be proven separately before the AHJ or process safety team will authorise first gas.
When stack commissioning reports, purification skid test data and hydrogen safety system verification sit in separate vendor files, the site cannot answer the question a process safety review asks before first gas: has every leak path actually been pressure-tested and every gas detector actually been calibrated.
Deskely puts every stack, skid and safety device in one register with one status model, so first-gas readiness is derived from signed records instead of assembled from vendor emails the night before the safety walkdown.
Setting up the register
Stacks, skids and safety systems are tagged assets with their own hydrogen-specific test set.
Process and instrumentation diagrams, electrolyser stack layouts and hydrogen safety system drawings are parsed into a reviewed register, so every stack, purification skid and gas detector carries its design data and OEM data sheet from day one.
Pressure decay leak testing, nitrogen purge verification and stack commissioning sequences are templated once per equipment type and instantiated across every train on site, whether the plant has two stacks or twenty.
Gas detection calibration, ventilation system commissioning and emergency shutdown (ESD) functional testing are held as their own record set, distinct from process commissioning, because they typically gate the safety authority's sign-off independently of stack performance.
Execution
Leak testing, purge verification and stack commissioning run in sequence before any hydrogen is introduced.
Pressure decay leak testing on every flange, valve and fitting in the hydrogen path is captured against the specific line before nitrogen purge verification confirms oxygen content is below the threshold required for safe hydrogen introduction.
Electrolyser stack commissioning proves stack voltage, current density and gas purity against OEM acceptance bands, while purification skids are tested for moisture and oxygen removal efficiency ahead of compression and storage.
Gas detection and ESD functional tests are run and their alarm and shutdown sequences verified per zone, with any finding logged against the specific detector or valve rather than a generic safety system note.
First gas and handover to operations
First gas is authorised from a verified safety case, not from a description of what the plant did during a cold commissioning run.
Leak test records, purge verification data, stack commissioning reports and gas detection calibration certificates all sit against the same register the process safety review will draw on before authorising first gas.
The handover pack for the operations team includes as-built P&IDs, stack performance baselines and safety system commissioning data exported per train, giving the operating team the same evidence base the safety authority relied on.
Every signature carries a name, role and timestamp, which is what the process safety review, the AHJ and the asset owner's insurer will ask for before first gas is authorised rather than provisionally trialled.
The dossier
Stack performance and gas purity are separate certificates, because a buyer checks the gas, not the voltage curve.
An electrolyser stack can commission cleanly on current density and still produce hydrogen that fails an offtake purity specification. The dossier keeps stack performance, gas purity and hazardous area evidence as distinct, individually signed record sets.
Stack commissioning report
voltage, current density and gas production rate meet the manufacturer's rated performance curve
at first energisation of each electrolyser stack
Electrolyser purity and leak-test record
hydrogen and oxygen streams meet leak-tightness requirements and the purification skid removes moisture and trace oxygen to specification
before the stack is released to continuous production
Gas purity certificate
moisture, oxygen and trace contaminant levels in delivered hydrogen meet the offtake agreement's specification
on each certified batch or continuous production run
Hazardous area classification verification record
electrical equipment installed in a classified zone carries certification matching that zone's rating
during electrical installation and pre-energisation walkdown
Compressor and storage commissioning record
hydrogen compression and storage vessels meet pressure test and functional acceptance criteria
before hydrogen is routed to storage
Offtake metering verification record
custody transfer metering reports volume and purity consistent with the gas purity certificate
at first commercial delivery to the offtake party
How it runs
From stack delivery to authorised first gas.
Electrolyser programmes reward a register built before hydrogen is introduced anywhere on site, because the gate to first gas is where every unclosed leak test becomes a safety incident waiting to happen, not just a delay.
- 01
Model stacks and safety systems
Electrolyser stacks, purification skids and hydrogen safety systems modelled as assets, each carrying its own safety test requirement.
- 02
Parse P&IDs and safety drawings
Process diagrams, stack layouts and hydrogen safety system drawings drafted into a reviewed register with design intent attached.
- 03
Template safety and process tests
Leak testing, purge verification, stack commissioning and gas detection tests defined once, instantiated across every train.
- 04
Gate first gas on verified safety case
First-gas readiness reported from signed records, with the process safety review and AHJ sign-off tracked to closure.
FAQ
Questions about Green hydrogen electrolysers scopes.
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