HydroSens hydrogen project
On May 29th, 2023, a meeting will be held at the Silesian University of Technology as part of the international HydroSens hydrogen project led by dr Eng. Tomasz Jarosz from the Faculty of Chemistry of our University. The project concerns the production of innovative hydrogen sensors.
The meeting will be attended by representatives of the project partners: Polskie Górnictwo Naftowe i Gazownictwo, Institute of Microelectronics of Barcelona, STC - Sensible Things that Communicate (Sweden) and MidDec Scandinavia AB, (Sweden). The topic of the meeting will be the presentation of the results obtained and the plans for the implementation of the project.
– We live in times in which the demand for energy is constantly growing, and at the same time we strive to protect the environment. By using hydrogen as fuel, we can get both. Hydrogen as a fuel works perfectly well. The new EU policy promotes solutions using hydrogen produced using energy from renewable sources (so-called "green hydrogen") - said dr Eng. Tomasz Jarosz from the Faculty of Chemistry of the Silesian University of Technology, head of the HydroSens project.
However, hydrogen is an extremely flammable gas and in a wide range of concentrations it creates explosive mixtures with air and burns with an invisible flame, and as a result of using oxygen from the air during combustion, it can cause asphyxiation. “Therefore, effective detection of hydrogen is critical for the use of this fuel, allowing for quick detection of the increasing amount of this gas due to, for example, insufficient ventilation or unsealing, and thus preventing the dangers associated with using it as an energy source" - added the scientist.
The main goal and innovation of the HydroSens project is the use of polymer semiconductors (so-called conductive polymers) as active materials for the production of hydrogen sensors. The developed sensors, unlike the existing solutions, are able to work at room temperature with minimal electricity consumption, thus meeting the assumptions of sustainable development and the Green Deal.
The expected results of the project will help to minimize greenhouse gas emissions both directly (reduced electricity consumption) and indirectly by supporting the development of an increasingly safer "hydrogen industry", contributing to the transition from an economy based on carbon fuels to an economy based on clean and "green" fuels and energy, such as hydrogen fuel cells.
