Driving Decarbonization with Continuous Methane Emissions Monitoring

Established in 1998 and based in Staefa, Switzerland, Sensirion is a prominent manufacturer of environmental and flow sensors, dedicated to advancing sensor technology. Their focus is on enhancing quality of life, reducing energy consumption, and minimizing CO2 emissions across various applications. This effort contributes to the achievement of CO2 targets for companies, individuals, and nations.

To better understand the significance of continuous methane emissions monitoring in the oil and gas sector, we sat down with Ryan Fitzpatrick, Sales Director at Sensirion for an exclusive interview. An expert in micro-electronic sensor technologies and IoT solutions, Ryan has played a pivotal role in driving business development initiatives for Sensirion in the Americas, spanning diverse sectors such as medical devices, life science diagnostics, oil and gas, and machine health monitoring.

Read as we discuss all things decarbonization and explore how Sensirion's solutions can facilitate further advancements in methane mitigation and operational improvement.

Maryam Irfan, Industrial Decarbonization Network: Can you give us an overview of Sensirion and the work that you do?

Ryan Fitzpatrick: Sensirion is a sensor manufacturer that was founded about 25 years ago and our primary focus is sensor development, particularly in environmental and flow sensing, which involves detecting various gases in the environment and assisting in temperature and humidity control. For instance, our sensors are also used in thermostats for home climate control and in vehicles to manage air quality. On the flow side, we concentrate on applications like ventilation in industrial buildings and medical settings, facilitating airflow within the human body and enabling various diagnostic opportunities. These sensors provide insights that were previously unavailable.

Since I joined the company, we've progressed from being solely a component manufacturer to establishing our newest division, Connected Solutions, which I currently oversee in North America. We focus on real-time visualization of environmental data by integrating IoT hardware and data analytics to offer comprehensive end-to-end solutions. We approach this in two main ways, one of them is emissions monitoring in the methane space.

READ: 6 Cutting-Edge Technologies to Help Achieve Net-Zero Emissions

Maryam Irfan, Industrial Decarbonization Network: Can you tell us about the importance of continuous methane emissions monitoring within the oil and gas sector?

Ryan Fitzpatrick: Continuous methane emissions monitoring is a critical tool in the toolkit that operators worldwide are using to reduce their overall emissions. Methane, in particular, is an extremely potent and harmful gas to the environment, 80 times more impactful to the ozone layer. Aligning with global efforts such as the Paris Agreement, there's a pressing need to minimize its impact and strive for a 1.5-degree reduction.

Continuous monitoring provides real-time insights into asset emissions. For the oil and gas sector, this offers several benefits, including proactive response. For operators, it keeps the gas within the pipes, preventing unwanted emissions into the atmosphere. This not only benefits the operators but also contributes to global efforts to curb emissions, ultimately benefiting people worldwide.

Maryam Irfan, Industrial Decarbonization Network: With all the real-time data accumulated with continuous methane emissions monitoring, how can it be utilized by operators to drive further improvement?

Ryan Fitzpatrick: Fundamentally, the first step for any of these technologies, including continuous monitoring, as well as periodic technologies like aerial scans from airplanes or satellites, is to establish trust in the quality of the data being provided. Before action is taken, we need to ensure that the data is accurate and reliable, which has been a significant challenge in the industry over the past two to four years.

Utilization extends beyond operations to voluntary initiatives like MiQ's or Trustwell certifications, and new reconciliation protocols with OGMP 2.0 or GTI Veritas. These global initiatives don't just benefit individual companies; they enhance the entire ecosystem, benefiting both buyers and sellers. They improve efficiency, financial aspects, and overall carbon and VOC footprints, contributing to global impact.

Exclusive Highlights from the Methane Mitigation Summit Series

Maryam Irfan, Industrial Decarbonization Network: Can you share any examples of successful implementations of Sensirion’s solutions?

Ryan Fitzpatrick: We've had several successful implementations, even with our newer system, which is a laser spectroscopy-based system. It's been deployed in every major basin across North America, including both the US and Canada. One particularly interesting case is in the Calgary, Alberta region of Canada, primarily due to environmental constraints. Designing systems that can provide robust insights continuously while facing extreme weather conditions adds another layer of complexity. When temperatures drop to below 30, with snow and freezing conditions, the devices must prove their resilience.

Collaborating with designers and product teams to ensure robustness on paper is one thing, but field testing is where the real value lies. We not only provide accurate and granular data on relatively clean operating sites, but we’ve also endured harsh weather conditions. Our ability to recharge at very low temperatures and prevent snow from covering solar panels ensures continuous operation and accurate data delivery.

Maryam Irfan, Industrial Decarbonization Network: What does the future hold for Sensirion and how do you see it contributing to global decarbonization in the next 5 to 10 years?

Ryan Fitzpatrick: Our aim is straightforward: to address the methane problem. Although we're discussing the oil and gas sector, it's crucial to acknowledge that methane poses challenges in other industries too, such as landfills, agriculture, and mining. I envision a natural progression from assisting the current sector to expanding our solutions into these other areas where methane remains a significant issue.

The second phase involves transitioning from reactive to predictive measures. Continuous monitoring provides historical data, but we want to move towards anticipating potential issues. Rather than informing operators about past emissions, we aim to predict when they might occur. This shift in mindset requires intensive device development and we anticipate introducing more devices and insights to monitor assets across various applications, thus making a more substantial impact on decarbonization efforts.

Listen to the full interview: Episode 7: Highlighting the Importance of Continuous Emissions Monitoring with Sensirion

Interested in learning more?

Join us in Austin, Texas, from June 10-14 at the Methane Mitigation Technology & Innovation Summit, uniting front-line innovators from around the globe, and leading the way in methane detection, measurement, and mitigation. This year's Summit will focus on the cutting-edge technologies being developed in the sector, explored through a wide range of operational case studies from the Americas, Europe, Asia, and beyond. Download the agenda for more information.