Advancing the technologies that impact worker and community safety

2024/12/03

Commercial solutions for OEMs in gas analysis, water and environmental monitoring

Hamamatsu is committed to supporting researchers, startups, and OEMs in developing the technologies that are positioned to have the biggest difference in preventing pollution. That commitment is demonstrated in our investment in innovation, support, and collaboration, as well as our international corporate initiative RE100, 100% renewable energy by 2040.

In one of our NJ locations, an aerial view of the proposed solar panel layout (left) and the completed installation (right), showcases our commitment to sustainable energy solutions.

Hamamatsu products are already or will be in use by OEMs in a range of high-impact applications:

InGaAs SPAD or InGaAs PIN diode, or InAsSb detector for monitoring of gas leakage
Lamps and spectrometers for water analysis to reduce the water pollution
NIR spectrometers for soil analysis that reduce carbon emission to the environment
PMTs and other detectors are used for air quality measurements
Microfocus X-ray sources are used in the inspection of batteries for EV vehicles
InGaAs image sensors used in hyperspectral technology are applied in the recycling market to sort different materials
Light sources are used in fusion technology

Let’s explore two areas of innovation, new technologies that enable earlier detection and intervention in gas leaks and water pollution.

Gas analysis: Finding the leaks that impact carbon footprint & profits

Hamamatsu is seeing an increase in product development for methane detection. The Inflation Reduction Act empowers the EPA to address the challenge of gas and methane leaks by funding grants to instrument providers.

Did you know that methane leaks are the 2nd largest contributor to climate change? ⁱ

Gas analysis instruments are expanding far beyond traditional oil and gas residential applications, for use in more complex environments, including landfills managed by commercial entities, municipalities, and government. These instruments manifest in a variety of form factors, techniques, and deployment vehicles, from handheld sniffers to lidar on helicopters to drone-based sensors and satellite imagery.

While Hamamatsu is an established partner to OEMs for components, OEMs are seeking modular, integrated solutions to speed product development and improve reliability and system sensitivity. By partnering early with researchers in R&D, Hamamatsu can help to develop and improve prototypes, and ease the path to production. Hamamatsu’s broad line of stock components and modules reduces development costs, though most of their solutions are ultimately customized to meet OEMs’ unique needs, price point targets, and specifications at production volumes.

Early involvement with Hamamatsu can help with initial product selection and improve ability to scale.

While safety is the primary driver in LFL (lower flammable limit) or LEL instruments, there is growing recognition of the impact of leaks to both climate control and profit margins. Better data collection can help to quantify and localize leaks. Methane is more than 28xⁱⁱ as potent as carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere, and presents a growing need for gas analysis.

Old guard reactor technologies are not up to the challenge, as gas floats, and can float away from a static sensor, failing to set off an alarm even with a blatant leak. Optical technologies cover a larger area with higher sensitivity. Gas absorption of light is well documented, and this approach can enable imaging capabilities in gas detection.

Optical technology offers higher performance and has the potential to break through as the dominant technology in methane leak detection, allowing us to finally tackle a large contributor to greenhouse gases. One OEM has been able to establish that its optical-based technology offers 3x the sensitivity, in half the time.

This increased sensitivity can help to find leaks faster and easier, in a traditionally challenging application. Solar heat, wind, and temperature variables, as wind moves a plume of gas, make methane particularly challenging to localize.

“Imagine pouring a can of coke into the ocean. That’s the challenge of detecting methane in a large area.” Leaks add up to significant loss, but field detection demands new technologies.

These leaks are not only bad for the environment, but also bad for business. A leak is not only a safety issue, but also lost product. The data from more sensitive gas analysis can enable preventative maintenance and better business decisions.

As grant funding and interest flow into incubating new technologies for gas analysis instrumentation, we have an opportunity to work at the R&D level to significantly reduce greenhouse gases. Hamamatsu is investing in its own R&D to advance modular solutions with increased sensitivity, including our new LED product line. Traditionally, OEMs have been limited to low-cost, solid-state light sources, or expensive lasers. LEDs strike the balance with coherent light at an achievable cost.

Learn more about Hamamatsu’s devices for gas detection

Water analysis: Detecting pollutants at the source with spectroscopy

Aquatic ecosystems are threatened at a global scale due to nitrites and nitrates in factory farm and industrial runoff. If you’ve experienced an ocean or lake beach closure this past summer, industrial runoff may be the culprit.

Today, industrial facilities and farms typically use wet chemistry, sending samples to a lab and waiting weeks for results, to detect pollutants over EPA limits. Spectrometry has the potential to provide real-time information that could allow for earlier remediation. This shift to optical techniques cuts the time and complexity of water analysis and can be used at point of need.

Spectroscopic water analysis is now used to:

Measure water runoff
Inspect wastewater from business sites and agriculture/livestock
Monitor quality and purity of water in precision agriculture and pharmaceutical manufacturing

Hamamatsu has worked to expand its product line to advance OEMs’ ability to meet such a range of needs, including our UV micro-spectrometer, ruggedized and available in the 190-400 nm wavelength range, which can be paired with light sources for handheld, portable applications.

Hamamatsu continues to invest in collaborating with OEMs and startups that are exploring novel applications to improve speed and reliability of water analysis at point of need. In addition to miniaturization and ruggedization, we’re working to meet sensitivity and expand detection limits, to detect more contaminants at lower concentrations.

Learn more about Hamamatsu’s water quality inspection product line

Hamamatsu is working to support these companies in improving sensitivity and customizing integrated solutions, while making strides toward its own greenhouse gas goals.

Beyond the blog: more on environmental monitoring

Environmental monitoring

Transform environmental science with Hamamatsu's sophisticated products for drone surveying, water analysis, gas monitoring, and more. Explore the future of optical innovation today!

Contributed by: Jake Li, Toshihisa Atsumi, Gary Spingarn, Stephanie Butron on behalf of Environmental Management Department and Sustainability Department of Hamamatsu Photonics K.K.

ⁱ IEA (2022), Global Methane Tracker 2022, IEA, Paris, License: CC BY 4.0

ⁱⁱ EPA United Environmental Protection Agency

Advancing the technologies that impact worker and community safety

Commercial solutions for OEMs in gas analysis, water and environmental monitoring

Gas analysis: Finding the leaks that impact carbon footprint & profits

Did you know that methane leaks are the 2nd largest contributor to climate change? i

Water analysis: Detecting pollutants at the source with spectroscopy

Beyond the blog: more on environmental monitoring

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Did you know that methane leaks are the 2nd largest contributor to climate change? ⁱ