SIST EN 17963:2025

Natural gas vehicles - LNG vehicle fuelling procedures

This document provides a guidance for safe fuelling operations of heavy duty vehicles and busses that use liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a fuel for propulsion, covering all the aspects of the fuelling operation, taking into account the existing differences in  LNG fuelling equipment.
This document is applicable to the operation of LNG vehicles

Erdgasfahrzeuge - Betankungsabläufe für LNG Fahrzeuge

Dieses Dokument enthält Leitlinien für sichere Betankungsabläufe für Fahrzeuge, deren Antrieb auf Flüssigerdgas (LNG, en: liquefied natural gas) als Kraftstoff beruht, und deckt die Aktivitäten und Abläufe ab, die zu befolgen sind, um sicherzustellen, dass die Bedienung sicher ist. Es enthält Verfahren, die auf unterschiedliche Betankungssysteme und  technologien anwendbar sind.
ANMERKUNG   Das Dokument beruht auf der Überlegung, dass der Arbeitgeber verpflichtet ist, Gesundheit, Sicherheit und Wohlbefinden der Arbeitnehmer zu schützen (wie in Richtlinie 89/391/EWG dargelegt).
Deshalb wird davon ausgegangen, dass der Arbeitgeber des Fahrzeugführers dafür verantwortlich ist, sicherzustellen, dass LNG Fahrzeugführer angemessen ausgebildet werden.

Véhicules au gaz naturel - Procédures de ravitaillement des véhicules GNL

Le présent document fournit les lignes directrices pour les opérations de ravitaillement des véhicules qui utilisent du gaz naturel liquéfié (GNL) comme carburant de propulsion, couvrant les activités et les procédures à suivre pour un fonctionnement en toute sécurité. Il fournit les procédures applicables aux différents systèmes et technologies de ravitaillement.
NOTE   Le document s’appuie sur le fait qu’il incombe à l’employeur d’assurer la protection de la santé, de la sécurité et du bien-être des employés (selon l’organisation de la directive 89/391 CEE).
Ainsi, il est de la responsabilité de l’employeur d’assurer que ses conducteurs de véhicules GNL ont reçu la formation adéquate.

Vozila na zemeljski plin - Postopki polnjenja vozil na utekočinjeni zemeljski plin

General Information

• Status: Not Published
• Public Enquiry End Date: 02-Jun-2023
• ICS: 43.080.01 - Commercial vehicles in general
• ICS: 75.060 - Natural gas
• ICS: 75.200 - Petroleum products and natural gas handling equipment
• Technical Committee: DPL - Gas supply
• Current Stage: 6060 - National Implementation/Publication (Adopted Project)
• Start Date: 14-Nov-2024
• Due Date: 19-Jan-2025
• Directive: 89/391/EEC - Safety and health of workers at the work
• Ref Project: EN 17963:2024 - Natural gas vehicles - LNG vehicle fuelling procedures

Standards Content (Sample)

SLOVENSKI STANDARD
oSIST prEN 17963:2023
01-maj-2023
Vozila na zemeljski plin - Postopki polnjenja vozil na utekočinjeni zemeljski plin
Natural gas vehicles - LNG vehicle fuelling procedures
Betankungsabläufe für LNG-Fahrzeuge
Ta slovenski standard je istoveten z: prEN 17963
ICS:
75.060 Zemeljski plin Natural gas
75.200 Oprema za skladiščenje Petroleum products and
nafte, naftnih proizvodov in natural gas handling
zemeljskega plina equipment
oSIST prEN 17963:2023 en,fr,de
2003-01.Slovenski inštitut za standardizacijo. Razmnoževanje celote ali delov tega standarda ni dovoljeno.

oSIST prEN 17963:2023
oSIST prEN 17963:2023
DRAFT
EUROPEAN STANDARD
prEN 17963
NORME EUROPÉENNE
EUROPÄISCHE NORM
April 2023
ICS 75.200
English Version
Natural gas vehicles - LNG vehicle fuelling procedures
Betankungsabl?fe f? LNG-Fahrzeuge
This draft European Standard is submitted to CEN members for enquiry. It has been drawn up by the Technical Committee
CEN/TC 326.
If this draft becomes a European Standard, CEN members are bound to comply with the CEN/CENELEC Internal Regulations
which stipulate the conditions for giving this European Standard the status of a national standard without any alteration.

This draft European Standard was established by CEN in three official versions (English, French, German). A version in any other
language made by translation under the responsibility of a CEN member into its own language and notified to the CEN-CENELEC
Management Centre has the same status as the official versions.

CEN members are the national standards bodies of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia,
Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway,
Poland, Portugal, Republic of North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye and
United Kingdom.
Recipients of this draft are invited to submit, with their comments, notification of any relevant patent rights of which they are
aware and to provide supporting documentation.

Warning : This document is not a European Standard. It is distributed for review and comments. It is subject to change without
notice and shall not be referred to as a European Standard.

EUROPEAN COMMITTEE FOR STANDARDIZATION
COMITÉ EUROPÉEN DE NORMALISATION

EUROPÄISCHES KOMITEE FÜR NORMUNG

CEN-CENELEC Management Centre: Rue de la Science 23, B-1040 Brussels
© 2023 CEN All rights of exploitation in any form and by any means reserved Ref. No. prEN 17963:2023 E
worldwide for CEN national Members.

oSIST prEN 17963:2023
prEN 17963:2023 (E)
Contents Page
European foreword . 3
Introduction . 4
1 Scope . 5
2 Normative references . 5
3 Terms and definitions . 5
4 LNG fuelling operations . 6
4.1 General. 6
4.2 Safety precautions . 6
4.2.1 General. 6
4.2.2 Personal safety . 6
4.3 Pre-fuelling. 6
4.3.1 General. 6
4.3.2 Pre-fuelling conditions . 6
4.4 Fuelling operations . 7
4.4.1 General. 7
4.4.2 Identification . 7
4.4.3 Grounding . 7
4.4.4 Preparation of LNG nozzle connection . 7
4.4.5 Vapour pressure reduction . 7
4.5 Disconnect LNG nozzle . 9
4.6 Final operation . 9
Annex A (informative) Troubleshooting . 10
A.1 Emergency procedures . 10
A.1.1 General. 10
A.1.2 First aid . 10
A.2 Leakages . 10
A.2.1 General. 10
A.2.2 Leakages during nozzle disconnection . 10
A.3 Freezing of the connection . 10
A.4 Fire . 11
Annex B (informative) Warm tank refuelling procedure . 12

oSIST prEN 17963:2023
prEN 17963:2023 (E)
European foreword
This document (prEN 17963:2023) has been prepared by Technical Committee CEN/TC 326 “Natural
gas Vehicles”, the secretariat of which is held by TSE.
This document is currently submitted to the CEN Enquiry.
oSIST prEN 17963:2023
prEN 17963:2023 (E)
Introduction
This document addresses the general operational and safety instructions for fuelling of LNG vehicles.
Training of LNG vehicle drivers is not part of this procedure.
oSIST prEN 17963:2023
prEN 17963:2023 (E)
1 Scope
This document provides guidelines for safe fuelling operations of vehicles that use liquefied natural gas
(LNG) as a fuel for propulsion, covering the activities and procedures to be followed for safe operation.
It provides procedures applicable to different fuelling systems and technologies.
NOTE The document has been based on the consideration that it is the employers’ duty to protect the health,
safety and welfare of the employees (as organized in Directive 89/391 EEC).
As such, it is considered to be the responsibility of the driver’s employer to ensure that LNG vehicle drivers are
properly trained.
2 Normative references
The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their content
constitutes requirements of this document. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For
undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.
EN 511, Protective gloves against cold
EN ISO 16321-1, Eye and face protection for occupational use - Part 1: General requirements
(ISO 16321-1)
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.
ISO and IEC maintain terminology databases for use in standardization at the following addresses:
— IEC Electropedia: available at https://www.electropedia.org/
— ISO Online browsing platform: available at https://www.iso.org/obp
3.1
LNG vehicle fuel system
assembly of components (tank(s), valves, flexible fuel lines, etc.) and connecting parts (rigid fuel lines,
pipes fitting, etc.) fitted on motor vehicles using LNG in their propulsion system
3.2
liquefied natural gas
LNG
natural gas that has been liquefied, after processing, for storage or transportation purposes used as a
transport fuel, regardless of its production pathways (e.g. renewable, synthetic or fossil)
3.3
vehicle tank
cryogenic tank mounted on a vehicle for the storage of LNG as a fuel
3.4
ignition source
source of energy sufficient to ignite a flammable atmosphere
3.5
dispenser
equipment through which the liquefied natural gas is supplied to the vehicle
oSIST prEN 17963:2023
prEN 17963:2023 (E)
3.6
operator
person executing the fuelling
3.7
cryogenic burns
cold burns caused by cryogenic gas
4 LNG fuelling operations
4.1 General
How to operate the dispenser can vary from station to station. This paragraph sets out the general
instructions for this activity. Specific operating instructions shall be provided at the station.
4.2 Safety precautions
4.2.1 General
Before starting fuelling, the operator shall ensure that no ignition sources (e.g. naked flames, exposed
incandescent material, sparks, electrical equipment) are present in the close surroundings of the vehicle
and the no smoking prescription is met. Fuelling shall not take place during thunderstorms.
Before starting fuelling, the operator shall read the emergency procedures of the station.
4.2.2 Personal safety
During the entire fuelling operation, it is necessary to protect operator against cryogenic burns.
Operator shall at least wear the following protective equipment:
— Face shield (EN ISO 16321-1);
— Long cryogenic gloves (EN 511);
— Clothes with long sleeves fully covering exposed skin including legs and arms;
— Closed shoes.
4.3 Pre-fuelling
4.3.1 General
Tanks can be filled at the station only if they are in the proper conditions of pressure and temperature.
If tank conditions are not suitable for fuelling, the vapour pression reduction procedure listed in 4.4.5
shall be followed.
If the vehicle has been parked with an empty tank for several days, the Vehicle tank is considered
“warm” (i.e. expected close to ambient temperature) and the specific procedure in Annex B shall be
followed.
4.3.2 Pre-fuelling conditions
Before fuelling the vehicle shall be parked in the proper area and the following requirements shall be
met:
— parking brake activated
— engine turned off
oSIST prEN 17963:2023
prEN 17963:2023 (E)
— external heating/cooling (e.g. cabin heating, refrigeration system, etc.) turned off
— windows of the vehicle closed
— electronic devices left inside the vehicle.
4.4 Fuelling operations
4.4.1 General
If all the pre-fuelling requirements are met, the operator can start fuelling operation.
4.4.2 Identification
If requested at the station, the operator shall start the identification procedure.
Operator may be asked to select the fuel type (i.e. “cold”/“unsaturated” or “warm”/“saturated”), or
vehicle brand.
4.4.3 Grounding
If the instructions at the station prescribe the use of a grounding connection, the dispenser’s grounding
cable shall be connected to the prescribed point on the vehicle tank.
4.4.4 Preparation of LNG nozzle connection
Tank cap shall be removed from the vehicle tank. Operator shall visually check that fuelling equipment
on the dispenser and vehicle tank are not damaged; operator shall clean both nozzle and receptacle
with the dispenser’s air blow gun.
4.4.5 Vapour pressure reduction
4.4.5.1 General
Pressure inside the tank can be higher than the supply pressure at the station. To allow fuelling
operations, tank pressure shall be adjusted to the level required by the station. Pressure adjustment
procedure depends on the type of vehicle tank connection, as described below.
4.4.5.2 Separate vapour return
If the vehicle has a separate vapour return connection, the following procedure applies:
— Remove the LNG vehicle tank vapour return cap. Remove the vapour return hose from its holder on
the dispenser.
— Use the dispenser’s air blow gun to clean the vapour return hose and the vapour return connection
point on the LNG vehicle’s tank.
— Attach the vapour return hose to the connection point.
— Open the shut-off (vent-to-station valve) valve on the tank of the vehicle.
— Monitor the pressure decrease on the vehicle tank pressure gauge.
— Once vapour return automatically stops or the desired pressure of the vehicle’s Vehicle tank is
reached, close the shut-off valve on the vehicle tank.
...