MEQAL brings together knowledge on methane measurement
How can new technology be used to detect and measure methane emissions in practice? This was the focus when researchers and project partners in the MEQAL project gathered in Sundsvall for two days of company visits and research exchange.
The first visit was to Sundsvall Energi’s facility at Blåberget. There, the project group gained insight into how waste is managed and how methane gas from the facility is captured. The visit also provided an opportunity to discuss methane measurement in this type of environment and the possibility of testing the technology being developed within the MEQAL project in the future.
The group then continued to the company Senseair in Delsbo, where the focus was on the company’s experience of developing sensors for measuring air and different gases. The researchers and the company discussed, among other things, how equipment can be tested and what factors are important to consider when sensors are used to measure methane emissions.
“It is very valuable for the project to meet companies working with these issues. Seeing their operations and discussing technology and testing also helps us put our own development work into a broader context,” says Göran Thungström, project manager for MEQAL.
From industry experience to project research
On the second day, the participants gathered at Mid Sweden University to learn more about the research being carried out by the university within the project. The project group was given an insight into the development of methods for measuring methane gas using NIR laser technology and new types of sensors.
The study visit therefore provided an opportunity to connect different aspects of methane detection – from how methane gas is handled at real-world facilities and how sensors are developed in industry, to the research and development taking place within MEQAL.
“We are developing different parts of the solution within the project, so it is important to have the opportunity to discuss them with others. These two days gave us a good shared understanding of where we are and which questions will be important to take forward,” says Göran Thungström.
MEQAL is an EU-funded Interreg Aurora project bringing together researchers and project partners from Mid Sweden University’s two research centres, FSCN and STC, the University of Oulu and Lapland University of Applied Sciences. The project is developing new methods to detect, locate and quantify methane emissions.
