DOE OSTI2012
On June 8, 2011, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) hosted a hydrogen sensor workshop attended by nearly 40 participants from private organizations, government agencies, and academic institutions. The participants represented a cross section of stakeholders in the hydrogen community, including sensor developers, end users, site safety officials, and code and standard developers. The goals were to identify critical applications for the emerging hydrogen infrastructure that require or would benefit from hydrogen sensors, to assign performance specifications for sensors deployed in each application, and to identify shortcomings or deficiencies (i.e., technical gaps) in the ability of current sensor technology to meet the assigned performance requirements. Current (e.g., on-board sensors for hydrogen forklifts) and emerging (e.g., residential) applications were included. The workshop was structured into two parts. The morning session consisted of topical talks that provided background information about various emerging hydrogen energy applications, the certification and listing processes, and about strategies for sensor deployment. Several critical key application areas were specifically identified, and for each application, breakout groups were formed to identify critical performance metrics, assign values to specifications, and identify shortcomings or deficiencies in current sensors to meet these requirements. Three sequential breakout sessions were held, which allowed workshop attendees to participate and provide input into multiple topical areas. Several breakout groups met in parallel, which restricted the size of each group to eight or fewer participants and enabled open discussions. Each breakout group was chaired by a topic expert.