Safety comes first in green hydrogen – automation technology provides solutions for quality control

Green hydrogen plays a key role in our transition towards cleaner industry and a carbon-neutral society. Emission-free hydrogen is a suitable replacement for fossil fuels, and it can be used to store clean energy for long periods of time.

As the role of green hydrogen grows, it will become increasingly important to ensure its safe handling and storage. Process automation technology can already provide solutions for measuring hydrogen concentrations, for example.

At Sarlin, we are at the forefront of furthering the use of green hydrogen with our process automation solutions. Our tailored implementations are ready for widespread use in the energy industry and for designer needs, for example.

Conventionally, hydrogen has been produced from natural gas through reformation, but today we need alternatives to fossil fuels.

In good news to the green transition, hydrogen can be produced without fossil fuels through electrolysis. The electrolytic process uses an electric current to split water molecules into two elements: oxygen and hydrogen. The hydrogen can be isolated and stored for later use.

Hydrogen is carbon neutral if renewable electricity, produced by wind, solar or hydropower stations, for example, is used to power the electrolysis. This is called “green hydrogen” because the process is very environmentally friendly and the burning of clean hydrogen is emission-free.

Large amounts of electricity are required to produce green hydrogen, and the electricity market of Finland is headed for a surplus in the next few years. Whenever the output of wind power exceeds consumption, the surplus electricity can be used to produce hydrogen. Storage capacity allows flexible use of the hydrogen according to demand.

The increasing production of renewable energy supports more cost-efficient and large-scale production of green hydrogen.

Hydrogen is a versatile medium for energy production, transfer and storage – it can replace fossil fuels in industrial and transport applications. One of hydrogen’s greatest advantages is its flexibility and scalability for different needs.

The growing demand for green hydrogen also means a new emphasis on technological solutions.

The correct storage and adequate quality of hydrogen will remain necessary to safely exploit it for maximum potential.

Hydrogen makes for an excellent storage medium because of its high energy density. However, hydrogen is also very quick to leak and explode, both risks for storage and transport, which means special care must be taken when handling and processing hydrogen.

Hydrogen concentrations should be monitored continuously because even small concentrations of hydrogen may explode if mixed with air or oxygen, for example.

Before hydrogen can be used, it must meet quality specifications, which often means additional purification in many applications. For example, ISO 14687 defines maximum values for the concentrations of various substances. Among the quantities that require constant monitoring are oxygen, water and methane.

The main impurities must be selected according to the hydrogen source and target application, which requires various analytical solutions.

• Hydrogen gas is explosive and requires monitoring throughout the whole process and all stages of use. Here measuring equipment has the principal role.
• The purity of hydrogen is subject to multiple limits, which must be observed.
• Hydrogen is quick to leak and requires specialised transport, storage and environmental monitoring solutions.
• Plans have been made to transport hydrogen through natural gas pipelines, which further emphasise the need for analysing oxygen concentrations. As a rule, natural gas pipelines are not ready to transport hydrogen.

As a veteran process automation expert, we can provide solutions that integrate seamlessly into the hydrogen processing system. We are independent of equipment manufacturers, which allows us to offer the best solutions for different industries, tailored to the customer’s needs.

Our solutions:

• Analysers and sensors
• Measuring equipment
• Monitoring systems for concentrations and leaks

We cooperate with hydrogen plant suppliers and other stakeholders. We have decades of experience in innovative, low-emission energy solutions, and possess tried and tested expertise in different gas technology applications and process automation.