A three-year, $1.3 million hydrogen research project agreement among Penn State, the U.S. Department of Energy, and two private-sector research and development companies will look at more practical uses of hydrogen for industry and manufacturing.

"Molecular hydrogen is a combustible gas that is both produced and used by the chemical, petroleum and glass industries. Monitoring hydrogen levels at various points in the manufacturing process is essential for both product quality control and safety," said Robert McGrath, associate vice president for research. McGrath led the research team that developed the proposal.

The goal of the project is to develop an alternative, reliable, low-cost, easily fielded sensing technology for online, real-time measurements that are applicable to multiple manufacturing processors.

Penn State's role in the project will be to produce prototype sensors at the University's Nanofabrication Clean-Room Facility in the Research Park. The facility is supported by the National Science Foundation and by Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge's newly established Pennsylvania Technology Investment Authority.

Additional applications of hydrogen include its use as a fuel in combustion engines and rockets, and emerging fuel cell technologies.

In addition to Penn State, the project partners are Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, N.M., and Livermore, Calif.; DCH Technology, Valencia, Calif.; and Air Products and Chemicals Inc. of Allentown, Pa. Funding comes from the Department of Energy's Office of Industrial Technologies as one of only four research projects selected during the most recent competition. Continued funding for the second and third year of the project depends on successful completion of year-one milestones and DOE approval.