GEDRA: the advanced meter for tomorrow’s networks is Hydrogen Ready

Pietro Fiorentini collaborated on the project from the start by supplying:

• NexMeters, residential meters that can measure methane and hydrogen mixtures
• one pressure reducing and metering station ready to handle mixtures of up to 10% of hydrogen, adjusting the pressure drop from 200 bar to 20 mbar and integrating remote measurement and reading systems
• GEDRA for the first Italian experimentation to use real hydrogen gas mixtures with progressively higher percentages of hydrogen, from 2% to 5% and up to 10%, which will be tested in the coming months

GEDRA is compact, low-cost, and low-power. The product is designed to quickly and automatically perform comprehensive measurements of gas parameters in injection and distribution cabins in any environmental condition, including the most remote locations. The main unit can measure a wide range of gas mixtures without any hardware reconfiguration or need for consumables.

The head unit of GEDRA has been a key player in the European PiPe 4.0 project to explore the use of photonic technologies and nanotechnologies applied to sensors for the advanced monitoring of new gas mixtures. As part of phase two of the ATTRACT initiative by the European Commission to research new technological systems for environmental monitoring, PiPe 4.0, led by the Institute of Photonics and Nanotechnologies of the National Research Council (CNR), contributed to the development of prototypes and to their testing in real-use conditions in certified contexts.

In addition to Castelfranco Emilia, GEDRA has been installed in the pilot plants of the project partners Greenway and INRETE Distribuzione Energia of the Hera Group: the former is located in Bertiolo (Udine), where energy is produced from biomasses; the latter in Forlimpopoli (Forlì), inside a REMI cabin.

GEDRA is certified according to OIML R 140 for the measurement of natural gas mixed with up to 20% hydrogen and meets ATEX and IECEx standards for use in potentially explosive environments.

The direction is clear: proceeding towards an increasingly smart, safe, and sustainable management of distribution networks. With GEDRA, Pietro Fiorentini continues with its commitment to give value to the resources of today and tomorrow.