Development of a hydrogen and carbon dioxide flow meter

The dramatic effect of Covid-19 has been a wakeup call to the world and how we treat our planet. Transport, energy, food production etc all contribute to our CO2 impact - oil and gas is seen as a major contributor. We need to change the focus of our business to play our part in the energy transition for the future. Our technology is very adaptable for the hydrogen industry and we can add products to our portfolio to serve this emerging and growing market.

The objective of this project is to enhance the performance of an existing flowmeter, which is widely respected in the oil and gas industry. The device is already highly innovative, being a self-adjusting gas flow meter, which automatically adjusts its operating flow range to match the flow rate of the gas being measured. Notwithstanding, the desired improvements will provide a device for even more reliable and accurate flow metering of hydrogen and carbon dioxide gases, in the emerging global hydrogen economy. We wish to undertake tribological and seal permeability testing, investigating the use of polymer and/or metallic seals and their mating surfaces. Flow loop calibration, erosion studies and computational fluid dynamic studies will be undertaken to compare the meters performance against that of natural gas.

Hydrogen is the smallest and most abundant element in the universe. Because of its small molecular size, it presents challenges in terms of physical leak paths, metallurgy and permeation into sealing compounds, changing their physical properties such as hardness, porosity and occupied volume. To verify that the self-adjusting flow meter remains gas-tight and safe over time, we will undertake assessment and testing into the current sealing system to ascertain what sealing system improvements will be required for operations with H2 and CO2, compared to natural gas. We will examine the direct effects of H2 and CO2 on meter seals, component coatings, substrate materials and how the seals and mating components behave in the presence of H2 and CO2\.

By adapting the existing product, we will reduce costs, personnel intervention, installation footprint and increase safety, accuracy and longevity, all while allowing hydrogen generators to enjoy the same wide flow range which oil and gas users demand. Safety is crucial in each of these applications, where seals and sealing surfaces are critical to the pressure integrity and long-term gas tightness and longevity of the equipment. By offering reduced installation costs and increased longevity, we can help operators to reduce capital and operational costs adding a small but important part to economic viability of this emerging industry.

Our learnings will also help to offer more even more reliable equipment to our existing customers, so we can grow our company, increase our ability to employ higher numbers of people and support the local economy.