The consortium has determined the design specifications and requirements of the system from technical, environmental and economical perspectives. Different needs for different future use cases were identified, as the aim is to create a robust and reliable system for hydrogen detection in diverse industrial environments.
Progress has also taken place in the development of sensor solutions. Coating materials for FBG sensors are developed using advanced plasma techniques, different coating compositions and coating thickness will be tested to optimise hydrogen sensitivity.
The correct selection of base sensor materials (like metal oxide semiconductor in combination with precious metals) and deposited with an optimized composition can lead an increased H2 sensibility. For that purpose, significant modifications of an industrial magnetron sputtering unit have been initiated. This included the selection and installation of crucial hardware elements, such as adapted size magnetrons and an external power supply. A series of coating deposition were performed and examined through scanning electron microscopy. The influence of the coating characteristics on the performance of the sensors will be studied at a lab scale in a specifically designed H2 chamber, controlling variables like temperature, humidity and hydrogen concentration. For the lab tests of the solution, a aboratory test chamber was developed. Given the high importance of safety measures at this stage, ta contingency plan to address potential failures during testing.
The development of FBG interrogators is also being performed, the aim is to allow a system that can integrate a large number of measurement points with a single interrogator maintaining an optimal response time. A dedicated software is being developed, that will receive, process and provide real-time verification of the signals streamed from three different detection technologies and corresponding interrogators: FBG, acoustic and temperature sensing. The first tests for the deployment of the combined system merging different technologies have taken place.
Once the coatings, interrogators and software are ready, validation will take place for pre-defined use cases, such as pipelines, Hydrogen Refueling Stations and gas grid installations. The initial validation plan for the tests has been developed, and the consortium will work in a detail test protocol in the next months. There will be two round of tests at each of the three installations, to ensure the learnings in the first round are incorporated in the final validation.
