The Element Materials Technology Group (Element) is driven by a clear purpose: making tomorrow safer than today. With a global presence spanning hundreds of locations in dozens of countries, Element’s expertise touches nearly every aspect of the daily operations of so many industries worldwide. Dr. Mark Eldridge, Director of Hydrogen at Element, spoke with Richard Hagan.
Since its establishment in 2010, Element has seen rapid growth thanks, in part, to approximately 50 acquisitions of testing, inspection, cer tification, and calibration companies worldwide. But while the Element brand itself is a little more than a decade old, its testing and scientific origins can be traced all the way back to the Victorian era.
Materials and product testing companies, such as Element, have historically helped give the world Ford’s Model T, helped put Concorde into the sky, and helped keep Venice afloat. And now, as industries grapple with net zero commitments, Element is also playing an increasingly pivotal role in facilitating the world’s transition to hydrogen energy.
Making tomorrow safer
Today, Element is organized around a clear purpose: To make tomorrow safer than today. Every day, the company’s 9,500 highly – trained staff members actively support Element’s clients in materials simu lation, modelling, engineering testing, product testing, and certification across a vast array of industries and product categories including aviation, construction, power generation/energy, packaging, batteries, cellphones and tablets, computers, wearables, automotive, defence, maritime, rail, food, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and many more.
For Element’s Director of Hydrogen, Dr. Mark Eldridge, the company’s purpose has personal significance. “I want to help change the world for the better,” he said.
“I’m passionate about green credentials. I have two children and I want to create a better world for them to grow up in. A crucial part of that is the energy transition to greener, more sustainable fuels – in particular hydrogen.”
Hydrogen in decarbonization
A major focus within Element is about how it can support those clients that wish to adopt hydrogen as part of their energy transition strategy. “Our customers vary from major aerospace manufacturers and oil and gas networks
to new startups in the form of hydrogen production compa nies,” said Dr. Eldridge. “They span all parts of the hydrogen value chain, including supply, infrastructure, and demand.”
Elements’ customers’ needs in terms of their hydrogen transition vary as widely as the industries from which they hail.
Dr. Eldridge and his team at Element translate each customer’s specific hydrogen related requirements into a bespoke package of services.
“We can then align the customer with our team of hydrogen specialists who will assist the customer with
reaching their objectives as fast as possible,” Dr. Eldridge explained.
The relative newness of hydrogen as an energy vector means that for many, the specific certification journey is still challenging.
“We’ve routinely operated in saturated markets in the past, where clients and the marketplace usually know what they want and need,” continued Dr. Eldridge.
“But the hydrogen market is in early development, so clients, specifiers, and regulators continue to wrestle with where, what, and how hydrogen will interface with the wide r energy system in multiple contexts.
“There are many different Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs). Every part of the hydrogen value chain includes customers who have differing TRL
needs, so there are many different pack ages that we ultimately support the market with.”
Safer by design
But there’s one commonality across all of the packages that Element offers, according to Dr. Eldridge: “Our focus is always on enabling: ‘Engineering Hydrogen Transitions – by simplifying them, improving them and assuring the process,’ ultimately supporting our wider corporate mission of ‘Making Tomorrow Safer than Today’. We’re essentially supporting what the energy system
needs to look like with hydrogen, while making things safer by design.”
A typical H2 customer journey with Element may begin with a Research and Development phase in which the company defines what the customer wishes to achieve. Next is proof of concept, followed by full production, and then finally, infield use, typically through the engineering V-V Cycle.
Element’s vast digital and physical testing capabilities substantially speed that process up, allowing the company to carry out any number of virtual tests, before moving to physical testing at
a substantial array of sites worldwide with H2 capabilities.
“Once we start linking these capabilities together, it’s clear that we have a strong overall capacity that can follow our clients’ j ourneys all the way through to commercialization and beyond,” Dr. Eldridge explained. “This is especially important –given that the world has very little time to reach its net zero targets – and allows the more timely and cost effective route through product lifecycles.
“Consequently, we are constantly looking at new methods of testing the characterization of materials in order to allow our customers to develop their products faster;
moving much quicker from a demonstrator level to full commercialization, at both our sites and client premises. That’s the real power of our combination of digital and physical services.”
A strategic acquisition
In early November 2023, Element acquired Filton Systems Engineering, a highly distinguished aerospace engineering and testing services firm with notable hydrogen capabilities.
A few days later, Element announced a major $10 million investment into its hydrogen capabilities - the first investment of a series to come. The injection will see the introduction of new, cutting edge hydrogen testing across multiple sites and an expansion of its global hydrogen team.
These two major investments affirm Element’s commitment to continuing to support its customers as efficiently as possible in accelerating the adoption of hydrogen as a clean energy vector.
“We play a key supporting service with many of the largest, most recognizable companies in this space,” said Dr. Eldridge. “We are supporting the development of a variety of technologies with our clients, ranging from hydrogen tank designs, EMC response on H2 vehicles and planes, to the optimum design of a fuel cell for hydrogen, emissions testing of gases and non-metallic valves, seals and components that interact with H2; to characterizing materials for global pipeline infrastructures based on potential susceptibility to hydrogen cracking;
to optimize repurposing poten tial, to name only a few areas. This is all with safety at the heart of everything we do through bespoke consultancy.”
In closing, Dr. Eldridge had a message for readers: “What are the H2 challenges you are wrestling with? We want, essentially, to be your Chief Engineer. Let us solve those problems with or for you, using our large global portfolio of capabilities. Whether it’s material science, design, definition, testing, modelling, simulation, or validation, the whole of Element is ready to support you in your H2 transition journey.”
Element. Engineering Hydrogen Transitions – simplifying, improving, assuring. n
