Home > About the NHA > NHA Committees

NHA Committees

The NHA is governed by a 25+ member Board of Directors, representing all elements of the hydrogen community. In addition to the Board, members participate actively in the following committees and working groups:

Education and Outreach Committee
Chair: (Vacant)

An educated public is the key to the transition to hydrogen. To reach different sectors, the NHA creates education materials, organizes workshops and conferences, conducts press interviews, produces a variety of hydrogen publications. Overall, the mission of the E&O Program is for target audiences to achieve a level of understanding so they can make informed choices about their energy options.

Codes and Standards Committee
Chair: Tom Joseph, Air Products

The adoption of safety- and performance-based codes is
imperative to the commercial development of hydrogen as an energy carrier.

The NHA is actively engaged in national and international codes and standards development in over a dozen working groups through approximately ten different organizations. In these groups, the NHA represents multiple member interests and technologies to make sure developing codes and standards create an atmosphere where new technologies can flourish.

Policy Committee
Chair: Ethan Brown, Ballard Power Systems

Most of the NHA's Legislative Affairs activity takes place at
the federal level in Washington, DC. The top priority, as identified by the Policy Committee and ratified by the Board, is to protect the funding for the President's Hydrogen Initiative as it moves through the legislative process.

Within the context of protecting the Hydrogen Initiative, the NHA has adopted a position of No Earmarks. Additionally, the NHA works to support legislation enabling the entry of hydrogen technologies to the marketplace and to oppose legislation that hinders entry. The NHA collaborated with other organizations
to foster the passage of the National Energy Policy Act of 2005. NHA staff participates in scheduled White House Energy Briefings and Briefings of the International Partnership for Hydrogen Energy. Information is transferred to NHA Membership via email and publications.

NHA Working Groups
The goals of NHA Working Groups are to:

1. Expand the NHA role in developing business opportunities in hydrogen for its members
   
   
2. Provide increased communication and networking opportunities for NHA members
   
   
3. Increase the value of membership in the NHA and provide more services to specific member interests
   
   
4. Improve the attractiveness of the NHA to potential members, offering services not provided elsewhere
   
   
5. Increase member input into the policy and program activities of the NHA

• Broaden the representation and types of NHA membership
  
  
• Expand the areas of concern that the NHA can help address
  
  
• Help promote the overall agenda towards a hydrogen economy

1. Defining the value proposition for renewables-to-hydrogen, by establishing the economic, environmental, and strategic relationships between renewable energy and hydrogen
   
   
2. Developing a conceptual market entry business paradigm and a transition vision for the rollout of renewable hydrogen
   
   
3. Exploring the role of public policy to strengthen and accelerate the introduction of renewables-to-hydrogen into the marketplace, and
   
   
4. Supporting education and outreach efforts to the general public, the energy community, and government leadership at all levels, which lead to heightened awareness and appreciation of these technologies and their benefits.

Hydrogen from Nuclear Working Group
The group intends to work toward the following objectives:

1. Investigate potential opportunities and challenges arising from a business relationship between the hydrogen and nuclear energy industries.
   
   
2. Identify the value of membership in the NHA and which services could support nuclear energy interests.
   
   
3. Identify public relations issues associated with nuclear hydrogen and how best to address them.
   

1. Investigate potential opportunities and challenges arising from a business relationship between the hydrogen and fossil energy industries
2. Identify the value of membership in the NHA and which services could support coal-derived energy interests


3. Identify public relations issues associated with hydrogen from coal and how best to address them


4. Advance technologies and share information related to the production of abundant low-cost hydrogen with near-zero emissions of pollutants and integrate coal-to-hydrogen technologies with carbon capture and sequestration