Trends in Gas Sensor Development for Hydrogen Safety

Contrary to several reports in the recent literature, the use of oxygen sensors for indirectly monitoring ambient hydrogen concentration has serious drawbacks. This method is based on the assumption that a hydrogen release will displace oxygen, which is quantified using oxygen sensors. Despite its shortcomings, the draft Hydrogen Vehicle Global Technical Regulation lists this method as a means to monitor hydrogen leaks to verify vehicle fuel system integrity. Experimental evaluations that were designed to impartially compare the ability of commercial oxygen and hydrogen sensors to reliably measure and report hydrogen concentration changes are presented. Numerous drawbacks are identified and discussed.