For several years, IANGV and ENGVA have been working to initiate a process of harmonization of standards.  An ISO Roundtable to be held on 10 Jan 2007 at UN in Geneva will be attended by decision makers and experts from vehicle manufacturers, standards organizations, regulators, gaseous fuels associations, gas companies. Offers of support from experts and industry decision makers for this event are now being sought.

As the gaseous transport fuels industries and technologies have matured over the past two decades, many standards have been developed to support commercialization.  Standards have been developed to ensure minimum safety requirements for equipment, testing, installation and use in both refueling and vehicles. The standards have been developed by international or national organizations or those representing specific industry stakeholders.

These include: at the international level the United Nations (which creates enforceable regulations based upon standards), and the International Standards Organisation (ISO); regional standards institutions such as the Committee of European Normalisation (CEN); country standards associations (eg Italy, United States, etc.); and organisations specializing in equipment and components, such as the Society for Automotive Engineers and the Compressed Gas Association in the United States.

Though there are numbers of similarities and even compatibility in the various standards, there remains a complex system of confusing and diverse technical requirements specifying natural gas vehicle (NGV) and hydrogen (H2) equipment development, performance requirements, and testing that present a major challenge to the national and international market expansion of these technologies.  The more diverse these standards and regulations are, the more expensive and challenging it is to sell different equipment worldwide. This results in higher prices for equipment suppliers and consumers and it takes longer for products to be altered for different markets.

For several years, IANGV and ENGVA have been working to initiate a process of harmonization of standards.  It was decided to collaborate with the hydrogen industry since there are many similarities with the natural gas vehicle industry.  It is pleasing to be able to say that the first step in this process will take place on 10 January 2007 at United Nations in Geneva.  A Roundtable organized by ISO will be held to discuss the issues and attempt to define solutions. (This coincides with a GRPE meeting the following day.)

The Roundtable will cover both natural gas and hydrogen since both these fuels have similar issues related to codes and standards.  Some issues are particular to natural gas, some are particular to hydrogen and there are some common issues.  Harmonization has been a consistent theme at recent meetings of the top executives of the world's major automakers.

The Roundtable objective is to bring out the real issues associated with use of existing standards, codes and regulations, and the process of preparing and updating them.  The output of the 1day event is to be a catalogue of issues and some guidelines or recommendations on harmonization leading to the next steps in the process.

The Roundtable will be attended by decision makers and experts from vehicle manufacturers, standards organizations, regulators, gaseous fuels associations, gas companies.  A Gap Analysis and a survey of experts will also provide input.

The organizers of the Roundtable are now seeking offers of support from experts and industry decision makers.  If you are interested in attending the Roundtable or participating in the survey of issues and have experience and expertise which will contribute to the achievement of the Roundtable objectives, you are invited to submit your credentials and contact details to IANGV at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it (for the NGV industry) or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it (for the hydrogen industry).  Attendance at the Roundtable will be by invitation only. The Roundtable is an important event for the NGV industry.  Hence it is organized by the leading international standards organization at a prestigious location and will over time lead to considerable benefits to the industry.