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Valencia, CA – March 23, 2025. The recent transformer fire at the North Hyde electrical substation near London’s Heathrow Airport serves as a reminder of the importance of fleet wide monitoring to reduce the probability of failure of critical transformer assets, according to H2scan’s CEO David Meyers.
The Heathrow incident, while still under investigation, reminds us of how the growth in energy demand, the worldwide aging condition of transformers, and the global shortage of new electrical transformers impacts us all. These factors have prompted power utilities and industrial transformer owners to implement fault-gas or dissolved gas analysis (DGA) based transformer monitoring solutions to protect their assets by providing an early warning of impending transformer failures.
Hydrogen is the first fault gas released during an internal transformer abnormality, so monitoring the rate of hydrogen production in a transformer is a reliable indicator of evolving issues. “The Heathrow transformer was a critical asset but may not have historically qualified for monitoring because of the cost of traditional monitoring solutions,” said David Meyers, CEO of H2scan. “H2scan’s single or hydrogen gas monitoring allows asset owners to monitor their entire transformer fleet cost effectively for the first time. Our mission is to make sure to educate the industry on this approach as supported by FM Global a leading industrial and utility insurance provider,” Meyers went on to say.
Many transformer operators are now implementing single gas transformer monitors programs as part of their fleet management initiatives, to avoid unplanned outages and extend transformer lifespans.
H2scan is a leading producer of high-performance, cost-effective hydrogen sensor solutions, used by utilities for transformer management, by the chemical industry to optimize hydrogen processes, and for safety monitoring in enclosed areas such as data centers and battery energy storage rooms where hydrogen gas can accumulate creating safety risks.
H2scan’s sensing technology is critical to the digitalization of the power grid and the many benefits that it delivers. H2scan has a two-decade track recording in providing safe, effective and proven solutions that empower utilities and operators to anticipate and mitigate transformer failures, helping create a stable and secure energy future. Learn more at www.h2scan.com.
