Japan Automobile Research Institute Studies Odorants for Fuel Cell Vehicles
by Karen Hall
Vice President, Technical Operations of the National Hydrogen Association

As has been discussed in past issues of the Hydrogen Safety Report, conventional mercaptan odorants are not suitable for hydrogen leak detection for several reasons. In the June 2004 issue, the NHA asked for information on work to identify odorants that do not poison the fuel cell, have a distinct odor, track with hydrogen, and do not collect at the tailpipe of hydrogen fuel cell vehicle.

A report entitled "Hydrogen Odorants for Fuel Cell Vehicles," by D. Imamura, M. Akai, and S. Watanabi of the Japan Automobile Research Institute describes a study that begins to address these concerns. The paper was presented at the 2004 Fuel Cell Seminar. The authors have graciously granted permission to publish the paper here to continue the dialog regarding odorant suitability for fuel cells.

You may download the report here. (110Kb PDF)