THE PRIMARY OBJECTIVE OF THIS PROJECT IS TO EXPLORE AMPLIFICATION OF DETECTION SENSITIVITY OF REFLECTIVITY CHANGES DUE TO HYDROGENATION OF PD-ALLOYS BY EFFECTIVE USE OF A MULTI-REFLECTION CAVITY CONCEPT. THE TARGET PERFORMANCE OF THE SENSOR IS DISCUSSED IN THE TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION SECTION. AFTER SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF THIS PROJECT, INDRIO WILL INTRODUCE A FAST, HIGHLY SENSITIVE, AND EXPLOSION-PROOF HYDROGEN SENSOR TO THE MARKET THAT CAN DRASTICALLY IMPROVE HYDROGEN LOSS MANAGEMENT. THIS WILL HAVE IMPORTANT IMPLICATIONS ON THE RAPID DEPLOYMENT OF THE FUTURE HYDROGEN INFRASTRUCTURE WHICH IS CRITICAL TO MEETING OUR FUTURE ENERGY NEEDS. THE GOALS FOR THE DIFFERENT BUDGETARY PERIODS ARE: •PHASE 1 – SENSOR PROOF-OF-CONCEPT: DEVELOP PROOF OF CONCEPT PROTOTYPE AND VALIDATE ITS PERFORMANCE UNDER LABORATORY ENVIRONMENTS. THIS PART OF THE PROJECT WILL BE CONDUCTED AT INDRIO’S HEADQUARTERS IN SAN JOSE, CA. A TEMPERATURE-CONTROLLED FLOW BENCH SETUP WILL BE USED FOR EVALUATION OF THE SENSOR’S PERFORMANCE. •PHASE 2 – FIELD EVALUATION AND COMMERCIALIZATION: INDRIO WILL WORK WITH THE PARTNERS TO EVALUATE THE SENSOR’S GENERAL PERFORMANCE AND TIME RESPONSE. PRELIMINARY FAILURE AND LIFETIME ANALYSIS WILL BE ALSO PERFORMED. THEN THE SENSOR WILL BE SHOWCASED AT THE INDUSTRIAL FACILITIES AT VARIOUS PARTNER FACILITIES.