SwRI expands Metering Research Facility capabilities for hydrogen research and testing
Upgraded testing capabilities ensure natural gas infrastructure is compatible with hydrogen blends
Southwest Research Institute
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SwRI’s upgraded Metering Research Facility is dedicated to ensuring existing natural gas infrastructure is compatible with hydrogen fuels. It combines SwRI’s expertise in energy, power and automotive engineering to help several industries evaluate how blending hydrogen with natural gas affects infrastructure and technology.
view moreCredit: Southwest Research Institute
SAN ANTONIO — November 11, 2025 — Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) has expanded the capabilities of its world-class Metering Research Facility (MRF) to ensure existing natural gas infrastructure is compatible with hydrogen fuels. This initiative is supported by internal funding and combines SwRI’s expertise in energy, power, and automotive engineering to help several industries evaluate how blending hydrogen with natural gas affects infrastructure and technology.
“Blending hydrogen into natural gas pipelines could prove to be a promising, cost-effective pathway to reduce greenhouse gas emissions using existing natural gas infrastructure,” said MRF Manager Adam Hawley, one of the initiative’s leaders. “The industry is studying using hydrogen-natural gas blends to generate electricity and in-home appliances such as heaters and ovens without impacting equipment or performance. SwRI’s goal is to have a research test bed to support these activities.”
As part of this development, the team repurposed a gas loop within the MRF, which was previously used to study flow measurement and compression for low-pressure natural gas applications. These enhancements now enable the facility to test hydrogen-natural gas blends and explore their effects on pipeline systems, components, and flow measurement technologies.
“SwRI originally designed the MRF to accurately measure natural gas flow, and we’ve now adapted the facility to include hydrogen,” said SwRI Assistant Program Matthew Godush, one of the project’s leaders. “This leverages years of research and infrastructure already in place.”
The upgraded facility now features a hydrogen injection system, which introduces hydrogen into the natural gas stream, along with other compatibility upgrades. These include a new safety system to detect both hydrogen and natural gas leaks. The upgraded system can simulate transmission, distribution, and end-use scenarios for natural gas-hydrogen blends.
The facility will focus initial studies on blends of natural gas with 5 to 25 percent hydrogen, pursuing both internal and client-funded research to understand how introducing hydrogen affects existing energy infrastructure.
It will also offer flow measurement testing, endurance testing, gas analysis, component compatibility analysis, leak detection, and general component testing to clients.
“Our goal is to show, through testing and research, the process needed to upgrade natural gas infrastructure to accommodate hydrogen,” Godush said. “Right now, hydrogen production is limited by its use, but demonstrating the efficiency and feasibility of these applications creates a large and economically viable case for hydrogen as a reliable fuel source.”
SwRI continues to dedicate a multidisciplinary team to hydrogen energy research initiatives, supporting efforts to decarbonize a broad spectrum of industries.
For more information, visit https://www.swri.org/markets/energy-environment/oil-gas/flow-measurement-services/metering-research-facility
Worcester Polytechnic Institute receives $1 million grant to expand workforce training for hydrogen jobs
Program with Western New England University will offer hands-on training and internships to prepare skilled workers for an emerging industry
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PhD student Amir Abdollahpour, left, and Mehdi Mortazavi
view moreCredit: Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI)
Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) has been awarded a $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation to develop hands-on training, internships, and mentoring aimed at expanding the hydrogen energy workforce.
WPI will collaborate with Western New England University, regional community colleges, and industry partners to create a one-year course to prepare nontraditional workers for careers in fields that are needed by hydrogen-sector leaders. Mehdi Mortazavi, principal investigator (PI) and associate teaching professor in the WPI Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, said organizers expect to train 40 people over three years.
“This program will be unique because it will focus on experiential learning,” said Mortazavi. “Students will gain theoretical knowledge about hydrogen while also getting hands-on experience during industry internships. After three years, we aim to have a blueprint that can be adapted to prepare workers in other regions for jobs in any emerging technology industry, not just hydrogen energy.”
Others working with Mortazavi on the project include co-PIs Andrew Teixeira, associate professor in the WPI Department of Chemical Engineering, and Seyed Niknam, associate professor in the Department of Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management at Western New England University.
Hydrogen has gained attention in recent years for its potential role in solving a clean-energy conundrum. Renewable resources such as the sun and wind can be tapped to generate energy without producing the emissions associated with carbon-based fuels. But when the sun sets and winds drop, energy generation stops.
A solution is to use electricity generated by solar and wind power to power an electrolyzer, a device that splits water into hydrogen and oxygen. Hydrogen then can be stored, transported, and ultimately converted into electricity and water through fuel cells.
Developing a skilled workforce with knowledge of hydrogen technologies will be essential to expanding the hydrogen economy, Teixeira said.
“Massachusetts is investing in industry-academic collaborations aimed at improving the state’s energy resiliency, and hydrogen will play a big role in expanding economic activity,” Teixeira said. “The people we train will become workers for emerging and established hydrogen companies in Massachusetts.”
The WPI-led team will work with community colleges in Massachusetts to recruit the first cohort of 13 students for the training program before the end of 2025. Mortazavi hopes to attract a wide range of applicants, including first-generation college students, veterans, and people from low-income families.
Students selected for the program will receive stipends and spend about four weeks in training focused on hydrogen safety, production, use, and infrastructure manufacturing. The cohort will train in laboratories at WPI and at the Center for Advanced Manufacturing Systems at Western New England University.
Students then will be placed in internships with corporate partners for about three months. After their internships, students will have access to mentoring, career counseling, and other job placement services at WPI.
The program aims to equip students with the technical and practical skills needed to secure jobs across the hydrogen energy sector. Potential roles could include fuel cell and electrolyzer technicians or engineers and hydrogen infrastructure specialists.
“A critical element of this training program is the collaboration across academic disciplines at WPI and among WPI, other educational institutions, industry partners, regional workforce and clean energy organizations, and federal agencies,” Mortazavi said. “The program brings together the mechanical and chemical engineering programs, with support from several WPI offices and external partners, to offer a holistic experience for participants who might otherwise face barriers to finding jobs in emerging technology fields.”
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