Automotive hydrogen sensors move to other industrial markets and have overall competitive advantages

From the example of hydrogen vehicles, it can be deduced to other hydrogen energy application products. As long as it is related to hydrogen fuel cells and hydrogen storage tanks, regulations will clearly require the detection of hydrogen to check their safety. Hydrogen sensors will be Essential components, without exception.
Inspecting seals when manufacturing on-board systems consisting of fuel cells, engines, hydrogen tanks, pipes, etc., and when developing infrastructure for the production, storage, transportation and use of liquid hydrogen and high-pressure hydrogen for practical applications in hydrogen-fueled vehicles It is very important to prevent hydrogen leakage. Major countries such as Europe, the United States, and Japan are demonstrating and developing hydrogen refueling stations and hydrogen networks in many regions, which will result in significant growth in the hydrogen refueling station market. According to statistics from H2 Station.Org , as of the end of 2023, there were 921 hydrogen refueling stations in operation around the world, maintaining growth for 10 consecutive years. There will be 685 and 814 seats at the end of 2021 and 2022 respectively.
Most of these hydrogen energy infrastructures rely on industrial manufacturers to provide corresponding equipment. For hydrogen leakage detection, they are accustomed to providing gas chromatographs or mass spectrometers. The industry will develop such high-cost equipment because in the past, although hydrogen sensors had the benefit of low cost, their performance was poor and they could not meet the specifications. For example, compared with hydrogen sensors, the advantages of gas chromatographs and mass spectrometers are that their measurement accuracy is less affected by the environment and their zero sensitivity is high. They can be accurately selected to only measure hydrogen and will not react to other flammable gases. Immediate response after detecting a large leak. However, after the hydrogen sensor was successfully developed into a car-sized commercial product, its specifications were greatly improved. Combined with the advantages of low cost and small size, it became more competitive than gas chromatographs and mass spectrometers.
The most obvious example is the claim to have obtained the new C OSMOS motor used in the hydrogen sensor of Toyota's Mirai second-generation hydrogen car . It has a 40-year history of developing highly sensitive and selective hydrogen sensors for industrial use. After occupying a place in the automobile market, it can take advantage of its absolute advantages in technical capabilities and market reputation to obtain 80% of the market for hydrogen detectors installed in the gas detectors of hydrogenation machines at hydrogen refueling stations in Japan. The company has announced that it will actively invest in the construction of hydrogen supply networks and the market development of testing equipment for hydrogen power generation.



References
 

• Kitakyushu City Government, Kitakyushu Hydrogen Certification Project (provided by Kitakyushu Hydrogen Certification System)

• Energy-Forum on-line, 2022-03-22, The new コスモス electric motor industry standard hydrogen detection alarm device FCV is being popularized in factories

• Toyota, 2024-02-05, Chiyoda Corporation and Toyota Jointly Developing Large-scale Electrolysis System

• Hyundai, 2024-01-10, Hyundai Motor Exhibition at CES 2024 Envisions Transition to Hydrogen Energy and Software-Defined Mobility Solutions
• Bosch, New area of business: Bosch to develop components for hydrogen electrolysis

• TI, Sandeep Tallada, 2019-08, Basic considerations for sensors in the powertrain