Chemical and Process

Dale Anderson

What is your role at TÜV SÜD National Engineering Laboratory?

In my role as a Clean Fuels Engineer, I work on a variety of technical projects, mainly focussed on the flow measurement challenges associated with hydrogen and carbon dioxide.

What is your academic/industrial background?

I have a master’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Strathclyde. More recently, I was awarded a Postgraduate Certificate of Professional Development in Hydrogen Safety from Ulster University.

Prior to joining TÜV SÜD National Engineering Laboratory, I worked for the National Nuclear Laboratory, working on several nuclear waste management projects.

What was the route of your interest in engineering?

I think my route of interest into engineering was like a lot of people in that I had an aptitude for maths, chemistry, and physics. Chemical engineering seemed a natural fit for me as it broadly covers these subjects.

What are your main areas of expertise?

Facility design, hydrogen safety and measurement uncertainty.

What are your current key projects and who are your key clients?

My first project when I joined TÜV SÜD National Engineering Laboratory was the design, build and commission of our Hydrogen Domestic Gas Metering Test Facility. The new facility was built to help meter manufacturers determine if existing gas meters and new technologies under development are correctly measuring hydrogen flow rates.

Making use of the this facility, we are current undertaking some testing for the HyDeploy project, which is aiming to prove that blending up to 20% volume of hydrogen with natural gas is a safe and greener alternative to the gas we use now. As part of this project, we are testing several types of domestic gas meters to assess their performance in blends of hydrogen up to 20% volume and compare their performance with methane.

I am also leading the experimental phase for the NEWGASMET project, which is European project funded through the European Metrology Programme for Innovation and Research (EMPIR). One part of this project will see the test facility described above compared to other metrology institutes in an intercomparison study.

What most excites/interests you about working at TÜV SÜD National Engineering Laboratory?

I think how the energy transition is highlighting flow measurement challenges that we have typically not seen before is exciting. This means that there is a need to develop innovative solutions to address these challenges. The feeling that you are playing a part in this and ultimately helping the energy transition is personally satisfying.

What future trends do you see developing in your area of work?

I think the continued use of hydrogen as an energy vector (i.e. use of renewable energy to generate hydrogen, thus providing storage of energy generated from wind, solar, tidal etc) is a trend we will see. There are currently several hydrogen demonstration projects around the UK, but there needs to be a large-scale roll-out to fully understand all the flow measurement challenges.

I am interested to see at what pace carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS) will be implemented, particularly in the UK. Key decisions by government made by will probably be the largest factor in determining this, which will affect how quickly flow measurement solutions for CCUS are required.