Hydrogen Sensor Prototype

Nano Cluster Devices Ltd. (NCD, Christchurch, New Zealand) has developed a new prototype hydrogen sensor. The technology could be a key enabler for the emerging 'hydrogen economy'. The global market for hydrogen sensors is already estimated to be several hundred million US dollars per annum.

Hydrogen is an explosive gas that is currently widely used in many industries, and which may become the fuel of the future, replacing fossil fuels. The only emissions from hydrogen-powered cars would be water. NCD researchers believe that commercial hydrogen sensors based on their new prototypes will have many advantageous properties, for example, low cost, fast response times, high sensitivity, and low power consumption. These sensors could be used in applications such as: monitoring hydrogen concentrations in fuel cells; leak detection during transportation and storage of H2; industrial process gas monitoring; sensing hydrogen buildups in lead acid storage batteries; detecting hydrogen leaks during ammonia, methanol manufacturing, and desulphurization of petroleum products along with many other petrochemical applications.

"This is a major step forward for Nano Cluster Devices," says NCD Chief Scientist Dr Simon Brown "It is a great demonstration of the usefulness of nanowire devices, and in particular the importance of NCD's technology for producing those devices."

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