H2 Optics

One of the most important challenges in the global efforts for carbon neutral energy transformation activities; with the significant collaboration of public institutions, research centres and regulation entities; are the developments in the aero spatial industries (especially in the commercial aviation) to reach operation capacities with zero CO2 emissions. To achieve these objectives there are multiple technologies that aim for the aircraft operation using renewable energies.

Among all the proposed solutions, the employ of hydrogen as an energy storage is one of the most promising to replace fossil fuels (in the form of liquid hydrogen or fuel cells). The use of hydrogen demands novel monitorization approaches due to the particularities of the element and its environment: it is necessary to ensure complete neutral electromagnetic presence and immunity and to avoid the presence of any metallic elements; at the same time the sensors need to adapt to operate in extreme temperature situations (both cryogenic and fire). To achieve all these objectives, in this project CALSENS will propose, research and develop multiple types of fibre optic based sensors (FBGs, Resonator, Cavities, etc) that will allow to monitor different physical magnitudes critical to the operation of an airborne storage and distribution hydrogen system. The project is being founded by the CDTI PTA 2022 program (with NEXT GENERATION EU funds) and is being done in collaboration with AIRBUS, Graphenea and Temai Electronics.