Matergenics has deployed its hydrogen-in-steel monitoring sensor at a hydrogen-natural gas blending facility in Italy, marking the first operational use of the technology. Engineered by Techfem S.p.A., the facility blends green hydrogen into a natural gas network and is supported by continuous remote monitoring from Matergenics’ Hydrogen Solutions Division in Pittsburgh. The system uses continuous dilation measurements and HEILD-based analysis to help assess hydrogen embrittlement risks in operating steel piping.
Hydrogen blending is widely regarded as a near-term pathway for reducing the carbon intensity of existing natural gas infrastructure. However, introducing hydrogen into steel piping can increase susceptibility to hydrogen embrittlement—a degradation process in which absorbed hydrogen reduces ductility and fracture resistance and may contribute to crack initiation or accelerated crack growth without readily visible warning signs.
Conventional operating measurements, including pressure, flow, temperature, and leak detection, do not directly characterize hydrogen uptake or the evolving mechanical response of the steel. Matergenics’ monitoring technology is designed to help address this gap.
The sensor is bonded directly to the exterior of the pipe and continuously measures extremely small dimensional and strain changes associated with hydrogen interaction with the steel. The resulting data are securely transmitted to Matergenics’ Pittsburgh monitoring center, where they are evaluated using proprietary analytical methods based on HEILD—the Hydrogen-Enhanced Instability by Local Dilation framework.
HEILD relates localized, hydrogen-associated dilation and mechanical instability to the susceptibility of a specific material and component to hydrogen-assisted damage. Rather than relying solely on hydrogen pressure, exposure time, or other generalized operating parameters, the system evaluates the response of the actual steel component while it remains in service.
“For decades, the hydrogen-embrittlement community has largely had to infer risk from environmental conditions, laboratory testing, and indirect measurements,” said Dr. Michael McGuire, Chief Scientist at Matergenics. “This deployment gives us the ability to monitor the mechanical response of an operating steel pipe continuously and translate that response into actionable information for integrity management.”
The project combines Techfem’s expertise in hydrogen and hydrogen–natural gas infrastructure with Matergenics’ sensing, materials-testing, and analytical capabilities. Together, the technologies provide the facility operator with visibility into a degradation mechanism that conventional pressure, flow, and leak-monitoring systems are not designed to detect.
“This installation represents an important step toward condition-based integrity management for hydrogen infrastructure,” said Dr. Mehrooz Zamanzadeh, Founder and President of Matergenics. “Our objective is to help operators identify changes in hydrogen-related risk before they develop into cracking, leakage, or loss of containment.”
The installation builds on an ongoing hydrogen-monitoring collaboration between Matergenics and Techfem and supports Matergenics’ continuing development and validation of HEILD as a framework for evaluating hydrogen-assisted damage in ferritic, martensitic, and austenitic steels.
Matergenics and Techfem intend to evaluate the system’s in-service performance and explore its application to additional hydrogen-blending facilities, pipelines, storage systems, and other hydrogen-exposed assets.
ABOUT MATERGENICS, INC.
Matergenics, Inc. is a materials, corrosion, and failure-analysis engineering firm headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Led by Dr. Mehrooz Zamanzadeh, FAMPP and FASM, the company provides corrosion assessment, materials testing, failure analysis, structural-integrity evaluation, and remote monitoring services. Matergenics’ Hydrogen Solutions Division focuses on hydrogen embrittlement research, accelerated testing, materials qualification, and in-service structural monitoring. Its technologies include HEILD—the Hydrogen-Enhanced Instability by Local Dilation framework—and the Circumferentially Pre-Cracked Round Bar methodology for accelerated determination of threshold stress-intensity behavior, K₁ₕ, in hydrogen environments.
ABOUT TECHFEM S.p.A.
Techfem S.p.A. is an Italian engineering company with more than 40 years of experience in strategic energy infrastructure. The company delivers engineering and project management services across the hydrogen, natural gas, CO₂, and power transmission sectors, supporting the development of secure and sustainable energy systems. With over 60 hydrogen projects in its portfolio, Techfem is active throughout the hydrogen value chain, from production and blending to transport and storage, while advancing innovative solutions through participation in national and European research and development programs.
For more information: Matergenics, Inc.
