Bronkhorst High-Tech, the Dutch leader in flow measurement and control, has been focusing on hydrogen applications in the renewable energy market for some time, and for good reason. It’s ingrained in the company’s DNA and the founders’ ethos to be engaged in a sustainable future. But why is hydrogen such a crucial element in the energy transition, and what can Bronkhorst contribute?
In the energy transition, the goal is to eventually eliminate the use of fossil fuels like natural gas, diesel, and gasoline. Burning these fuels releases carbon dioxide, contributing to global warming and climate change. Solar, wind, and hydropower are increasingly used to generate electricity, and this trend will continue in the coming years. However, the challenges are that this sustainable energy isn’t always available, and is seasonal. Those with solar panels will know that they yield little in winter. The ideal solution would be for society to undergo a social transition using energy only when available, perhaps leading to a slower pace of life in winter. Unfortunately, reality doesn’t work that way.
One problem is that storing electrical energy is challenging. There are other issues too; for example, electric heating struggles to achieve very high temperatures, and the chemical industry uses oil as a raw material for various products like plastics and fertilisers.
The obvious solution is to electrochemically split water into hydrogen and oxygen, a process known as electrolysis. Hydrogen is an energy carrier, and if produced from electricity from renewable sources, it’s termed green hydrogen. There’s a significant global investment in producing green hydrogen on a large scale, driven not only by climate agreements, but also by the scarcity of natural gas due to global political tensions. Hydrogen can be stored in various ways for longer periods and reused by burning, using it as a raw material in industry, or electrochemically converting it into electricity with a fuel cell.
Critics argue that electrolysis, storage, conversion, and hydrogen transport result in significant energy losses. This is true. Ideally, it’s preferable to use available electrical energy directly and only convert excess energy into hydrogen. With the broader availability of green hydrogen, new applications or temporary solutions during the energy transition are emerging. Many countries plan to increasingly blend hydrogen into natural gas. Another example is the fuel cell, which is finding its way into the automotive industry and stationary applications.
What can Bronkhorst contribute to this new hydrogen economy? Without proper measuring instruments, research and development of systems for the energy transition are hindered. Bronkhorst excels in ‘consultative selling,’ collaborating with customers to find the best solution for their hydrogen flow application.
While politicians and large companies would like electrolysers and fuel cells to be commercially available, these systems are far from fully developed. The stacks in these systems require meticulous testing for quality and stability. Many companies build test systems using our instruments. Flowmeters and controllers are employed to manage and monitor various gas flows in test systems. The required flow ranges steadily increase as installations grow. Bronkhorst’s IN-FLOW high-flow line is popular, and its EX-FLOW series is increasingly requested for environments where explosive gas mixtures may occur. High accuracy of the instruments is specifically demanded for test systems, currently achievable only with real-time calibration.
Several projects within the company aim to meet market needs. Recently, the loop calibration system was delivered, allowing high-flow real-time calibrations by circulating gas like hydrogen without waste. More technical innovations are also underway.
As a market developer, I try to anticipate how the hydrogen market will evolve, foresee upcoming applications, and create the best product-market combinations for the future. Fortunately, I’m not alone in this endeavour, and am part of a team comprising colleagues from across the organisation. Together, as a company, we’re working towards a sustainable future because better instruments from Bronkhorst lead to better products from our customers, and these contribute to better solutions for the world.
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