ISO TC197 WG13 Hydrogen Detectors was established in September 2005 and had its first meeting in Tokyo in early 2006. Its primary objective is to produce a standard dedicated to hydrogen so that the safety of hydrogen is established and the building of infrastructure such as hydrogen fuel stations would be facilitated.

There is IEC 61779, a standard for detectors of flammable gases already in use, and some people strongly feel that the IEC document should remain the platform for a hydrogen detector document.

The presentation will aim to illustrate the need for a hydrogen specific document through summarized comparison of existing standards and describe the progresses to date as well as the major issues presently on the table. The latter are primarily due to the fact that hydrogen detection in the context of general use is still an emerging field.