Eight SwRI hydrogen projects funded by ENERGYWERX

(Press-News.org) SAN ANTONIO — December 15, 2025 — Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) has received $1.75 million in funding from the ENERGYWERX program to support a set of hydrogen-related projects. The eight projects focus on testing components for the hydrogen industry to improve energy infrastructure and support the use of this clean-burning fuel.

The ENERGYWERX program strives to increase cooperative research activities between the DOE and nonprofits, private companies, utilities, localities and other organizations by accelerating the development of clean energy technologies and solutions.

Eight SwRI projects have been funded by the program:

SwRI will perform pressure cycle testing on a hydrogen check valve to support high-pressure gaseous hydrogen refueling. The testing will be based on guidance from the widely accepted international standard ISO 19880-3. SwRI will commission a new facility to safely test the integrity of the check valve at hydrogen gas pressures of up to 15,000 psi. Jacqueline Manders, P.E., an assistant program manager in SwRI’s Fluids Engineering Department, leads this project. At the same high-pressure hydrogen facility, Manders will also oversee testing valves used for underground hydrogen storage wells. SwRI will evaluate the reliability of the valves under repeated exposure to high-pressure hydrogen gas and extreme temperatures, which can embrittle metals and damage sealing elements, making them prone to leaks. Expanding SwRI’s liquid hydrogen infrastructure is part of a wider effort to establish facilities and methodologies to support comprehensive hydrogen component testing, highlighting safety, reliability, performance, and compliance with global standards. Its focus will be liquid hydrogen pumps, valves, and other cryogenic components, providing significant benefits by testing with liquid hydrogen instead of substitutes like liquid nitrogen. SwRI Senior Research Engineer Brandon Ridens will lead the project, which is designed to gather performance test data of cryo-compressed hydrogen storage systems. SwRI assistant program manager Matthew Godush will lead efforts to test ultrasonic meters adapted to measure the flow of hydrogen-natural gas blends accurately. Because hydrogen has different flow properties than methane, existing meters do not provide accurate readings for natural gas and hydrogen blends. To help utilities safely adapt to hydrogen gas blends without massive infrastructure overhauls, SwRI will test the efficacy of the new meters with existing pipeline transmission technology. SwRI will test a new gas analysis sensor that detects hydrogen and methane content in hydrogen--natural gas blends. The sensor will contain a rapid analysis tool to instantly assess the percentage of hydrogen and methane. This project, also led by Godush, will develop and test the tool’s speed and accuracy in real-world gas conditions with different blend ratios. SwRI will test and validate a hydrogen gas analysis sensor for sensitivity, response time and accuracy. Godush will lead evaluations of the sensor for low-level leak detection, at higher concentrations and under different environmental conditions. When testing is complete, SwRI will provide recommendations to improve detection reliability. Godush will also lead an effort to detect hydrogen leaks under operational conditions. Leaks are difficult to detect in high-pressure hydrogen systems, because hydrogen is colorless and odorless, spreads quickly, and has a wide flammability range. SwRI will calibrate detection methods against known hydrogen leak scenarios to reinforce safety protocols with real-time detection. SwRI’s Fassett Hickey leads a project that tests the compatibility of O-ring materials with hydrogen gas environments. O-rings are vital to safely operate hydrogen equipment in aerospace, energy, and industrial applications. Because hydrogen molecules are so small, they penetrate polymeric materials used for O-rings and the entrained gas can cause blistering or rupture during rapid decompression events. SwRI is testing the reliability and safety of the O-rings in hydrogen environments. Many of the projects will be conducted in SwRI’s Metering Research Facility, a world-class, high-accuracy, high-technology flow measurement facility that simulates actual field conditions. SwRI scientists and engineers across multiple disciplines are working together to prepare for a future hydrogen economy. The ENERGYWERX projects are underway and are expected to be completed by the end of 2026.

For more information, visit https://www.swri.org/markets/energy-environment/power-generation-utilities/advanced-power-systems/hydrogen-energy-research.

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About SwRI:
SwRI is an independent, nonprofit, applied research and development organization based in San Antonio, Texas, with more than 3,200 employees and an annual research volume of $915 million. Southwest Research Institute and SwRI are registered marks in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. For more information, please visit www.swri.org.

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