A quarterly research and development magazine
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Bob Hughes
(505) 844-8172
rwstinn@sandia.gov
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After more than a decade of research and development, a hydrogen sensor invented by Sandia researchers will find its way into applications such as petroleum refining, hydrogen production, chemical production, chlorine produc-tion, nuclear waste monitoring, and fuel cells.
The Wide-Range Hydrogen Sensor, developed by Sandia and commercialized by H2scan, is smaller, faster, sturdier, more user-friendly, and less expensive to manufacture than other hydrogen sensors available on the market, says retired Sandia developer Bob Hughes.
The Wide-Range Hydrogen Sensor is currently being used for petroleum refining and hydrogen and chlorine production, but its real contribution will be to the hydrogen economy, once it gets rolling, says Hughes.
"It will have many applications to the hydrogen transportation and automotive industry. It can monitor hydrogen levels in fueling sta-tions and in cars and trucks burning hydrogen," Hughes says.
H2scan president, CEO, and founder Dennis Reid says his company is already working with automobile companies so cars could use these sensors to monitor hydrogen levels in hydrogen vehicles. Reid says the partnership between his company and Sandia is what led to the fast commercialization of the sensor.
H2scan has delivered sensors to more than 200 government and industry customers, including numerous oil companies, Air Products, PraxAir, Air Liquide, UOP, Total, General Electric, Boeing, Bechtel, NASA, Lockheed Martin, Merck, Nissan, Toyota, GM, Honda, Ballard, UTC, Northrop Grumman, Shell Hydrogen, Ball Aerospace, Westinghouse, and others. Reid expects to release the product soon for refineries and is working closely with the world’s largest provider of systems for refiners worldwide.
Reid says that H2scan has grown from seven employees to 22 since the initial cooperative research and development agreement was signed with Sandia. "As our sensor becomes known and our client list expands, I expect we will triple in size over the next two to three years, thanks to Sandia’s involvement," Reid says.