Panasonic Presents Gas Mixtures Measurement Technology Evaluated with the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) at the International Conference IMEKO World Congress

Osaka, Japan – Panasonic Corporation today announced that its Electric Works Company (hereinafter referred to as “Panasonic”) and the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (hereinafter referred to as “AIST”) jointly presented technological results at the IMEKO 2024 XXIV World Congress^*1 held by the International Measurement Confederation, in Hamburg, Germany from August 26 to 29, 2024. During the scientific congress where organizations concerned with metrology gathered, both parties presented the technological results obtained through the evaluation of gas mixtures measurement technology devised by Panasonic using a gas flow test system based on national standards^*2 provided by AIST.

Over the past few years, as efforts to achieve carbon neutrality accelerate around the world, initiatives to promote the use of hydrogen energy have intensified. Fuel cells generate electric power through a chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen in the air. The importance of their research and development is increasing, with expectations for advancements in energy efficiency, product durability, and further cost reductions.

Developing fuel cell systems that circulate and reuse hydrogen requires optimizing the control of hydrogen injection and nitrogen purge timings to achieve higher efficiency operation. For that purpose, it is necessary to precisely measure the flow and concentration of hydrogen and nitrogen gas mixtures circulating inside fuel cell systems.

In this congress, a joint presentation was made on the achievements concerning technology to precisely measure the flow and concentration of gas in the hydrogen circulation line inside a fuel cell system. A new flow and concentration evaluation system was assembled by AIST with multiple critical nozzles^*3 traceable^*4 to the national standards. Subsequently, a rigorous verification was conducted by Panasonic to examine the performance of measuring the flow and concentration of hydrogen and nitrogen gas mixtures. As a result, it was verified that the technology developed by Panasonic to measure the flow and concentration of gas mixtures can achieve high-precision hydrogen measurement with a flow measurement error of up to ±0.5% RD^*5 and a concentration measurement error of up to 0.04 vol%^*6, even for a flow channel with a water bypass structure, which tends to cause measurement errors. This technology has been incorporated into the ultrasonic flow and concentration meters for hydrogen (GB-L1CMH1A and GB-L1CMH1B). 

This measuring technology can be also used for purposes other than fuel cell system development. In the field of natural gas metering, the technology can contribute to regions planning to blend hydrogen into gas pipelines by achieving high-precision gas flow measurement regardless of the ratio of hydrogen mixed with natural gas. Additionally, the concentration measurement technique is expected to be utilized for natural gas quality monitoring applications. Moreover, in the field of hydrogen production, its applications to hydrogen quality control are also conceivable, including hydrogen purity measurement.

Panasonic will contribute to the realization of a decarbonized society by providing high-reliability hydrogen measurement technology for fuel cell system development and natural gas metering systems, aiming to promote the expansion of renewable energy use.

*1 https://www.imeko2024.org/home
*2 Measurement standards defined by national authorities for use within the country or economic region
*3 High-precision constant flow generator utilizing the characteristics of the gas flow velocity at its critical state
*4 A state where measurement results can be related to appropriate standards, such as international or national standards, through an unbroken chain of calibrations
*5 Accuracy of measurement values (percentage of the reading scale)
*6 Volume concentration

IMEKO 2024 Paper title:
Ultrasonic Gas Flow and Concentration Measurement in Hydrogen and Nitrogen Gas Mixtures
https://www.imeko2024.org/home

Web page of the Ultrasonic Flow and Concentration Meter for Hydrogen:
In Japanese: https://industrial.panasonic.com/jp/products/pt/ultrasonic-gas-flow-sensor

Press release for the Ultrasonic Flow and Concentration Meter for Hydrogen:
In Japanese: https://news.panasonic.com/jp/press/jn240214-1
In English: https://news.panasonic.com/global/press/en240214-3

panasonic_ufm@ml.jp.panasonic.com