Performance of the adMS hydrogen mass spectrometer (H2MS) for continuous on-line detection of low-level atmospheric hydrogen

Performance of the adMS hydrogen mass spectrometer (H2MS) for continuous on-line detection of low-level atmospheric hydrogen

Hubertus A. Scheeren¹, Iris M. Westra¹, Steven M.A.C. van Heuven¹, Bert A.M. Kers¹, Felix Piel², Armin Wisthaler², Harro A.J. Meijer¹

¹University of Groningen, Department of Science and Engineering, Centre for Isotope research, The Netherlands

²Advanced Monitoring Solutions AS, Oslo, Norway

Abstract. Only recently, new techniques to detect low-level hydrogen emissions along the value chain have become available (1,2,3). We tested the performance of the novel hydrogen mass spectrometer (H2MS) from Advanced Monitoring Solutions (adMS), Norway, against our high-precision Agilent gas-chromatrography system equipped with a Pulsed Discharge Helium Ionization Detector (PDHID) (1) for measuring ambient hydrogen. The H2MS analyzer utilizes electron ionization and magnetic sector separation (following the same fundamental principles as conventional leak-detection mass spectrometers) to isolate and detect H₂⁺ ions ((m/z 2) (2). It features a dedicated, patent-pending inlet system that allows for the stable and precise detection of background levels of atmospheric H₂ (~530 ppb). We present results from both laboratory and field performance tests of the H2MS system as compared to our GC-PDHID system. As such, we evaluate its measurement performance when using our UAV-borne ‘active AirCore’ samplers for hydrogen emission quantification studies (1,4,6). Furthermore we evaluate the results of a continous monitoring intercomparison experiment against our GC-PDHID system at our field station Lutjewad (4) measuring ambient air from a 60 m high mast. Our results demonstrate that the H2MS is a valuable addition to our low-level hydrogen detection and emission quantification methodologies so far (1,6) with sufficient precision and resolution compared to our GC-systems but unparralled advantages when working under field conditions.

1) I.M. Westra, H.A. Scheeren, F.T. Stroo, S.M.A.C. van Heuven, B.A.M. Kers, W. Peters, H.A.J. Meijer, First detection of industrial hydrogen emissions using high precision mobile measurements in ambient air, Sci. Rep. 14 (2024) 24147, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-76373-2.

2) Malgven Roudot, Felix Piel, Nikita Sobolev, Thomas Mikoviny, Armin Wisthaler, Victoria Krohl, A New Analytical Framework for Industrial Hydrogen Emissions Quantification: Validation and First Results (September 29, 2025). Available at SSRN: http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.6041754.

3) A. Momeni, J.D. Albertson, S. Herndon, C. Daube, D. Nelson, J.R. Roscioli et al. Quantification of Hydrogen Emission Rates Using Downwind Plume Characterization Techniques. Environ. Sci. Technol., 2025, 59, 6016-6024. DOI:10.1021/acs.est.4c13616.

4) T. Andersen, B. Scheeren, W. Peters, and H. Chen: A UAV-based active AirCore system for measurements of greenhouse gases, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 2683–2699, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-2683-2018, 2018.

5) Lutjewad (ICOS class 2) monitoring station: https://meta.icos-cp.eu/resources/stations/AS_LUT.

6) Iris M. Westra, Hubertus A. Scheeren, Mareen J. Penninga, Steven M.A.C. van Heuven, Harro A.J. Meijer, Controlled-release experiment to optimize emission quantification of H₂ point source, under review at ES&T-Air, 2026.