Leak detection – Todevelop metrology infrastructure to support new leak detection requirements for decarbonising the gas grid. This includes traceable monitoring methods for accurately quantifying leaks of hydrogen or hydrogen-enriched natural gas from pipelines at 25 % of the lower explosive limit (for health and safety reasons), and carbon dioxide leaks from pipelines or underground storage in CCS processes to meet the requirements of EU ETS (accuracy of ± 1.5 – 2.5 %). To support the future role of mobile platforms by ensuring they are capable of accurate measurement of leaks.
Portable gas alarms (used by emergency services and maintenance engineers to identify gas leaks) are suitable for natural gas but have not been tested for use with hydrogen or hydrogen-enriched natural gas. Industry has advised their need for monitors that can distinguish between natural gas and hydrogen, which this project aims to address. Carbon dioxide leaks from CCS infrastructure is a safety concern and can also lead to inaccuracies when monitoring losses of carbon dioxide in the process. This project will investigate
suitable solutions for monitoring and quantifying these leaks. Current approaches to understand material performance have been developed for natural gas networks, and this project will investigate their applicability and appropriateness for hydrogen and hydrogen-enriched natural gas.
For more information please contact WP 4 leader: Rob Robinson, email: rod.robinson@npl.co.uk
