Hydrogen will be at the heart of the world’s energy transition away from natural gas. However, while there are many ways to produce and use hydrogen, there is a common denominator: all require monitoring for safety. Today, Teledyne Gas and Flame Detection has a complete product offer for hydrogen that not only encompasses end-to-end gas, flame, and fire detectors, but also a complementary range of leading-edge controllers, services, and cloud data management options. As a result, more and more companies engaged in hydrogen transitioning projects are placing their trust in us as a one-stop-shop for all their safety needs.

Many customers ask if they can use their existing natural gas flame detector with hydrogen. However, many flame detection systems for use in hydrocarbon processing just ‘see’ combustion products such as water, soot, or carbon dioxide. When pure hydrogen burns it forms only water, making it necessary to use special flame detection equipment.

We have an exciting new offer in this area: the Spyglass IR3-H2-V flame detector quickly detects hydrogen and other ‘energy transition’ fires in support of rapid response efforts. A near-infrared camera provides personnel with the ability to see invisible hydrogen flames in all weather and light conditions. Notably, the detector automatically records video, providing additional means to study the cause and development of fires.