(NIST: Gaithersburg, Maryland) -- How do you measure something that is 14 times lighter than air and invisible? That’s just one of the tasks National Institute of Standards and Technology Weights and Measures Division staff have taken on to prepare the nation for the hydrogen economy.

Under an interagency agreement signed recently, the U.S. Department of Energy asked NIST to intensify efforts to develop the standards, test procedures, and test methods needed to buy and sell hydrogen in the marketplace as easily as gasoline. To plan for the effort, NIST and DOE are sponsoring a U.S. National Work Group for the Development of Hydrogen Measurement Standards meeting, Oct. 3–4, in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Participants will include regulatory officials, equipment manufacturers, and representatives from alternative fuel organizations and laboratories working on hydrogen-refueling measurement.

Accurate measurements and performance standards are critical to U.S. development and implementation of the new technology. Virtually every stage of hydrogen production, distribution, and sales requires new measurement tests and methodologies to establish confidence in the transactions.

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