Media Release
23 September 2021, Sensirion AG, 8712 Stäfa, Switzerland

Nubo Sphere - Locate methane leaks reliably, minimize emissions sustainably

Sensirion, the expert in environmental sensing, announces the development of a stationary methane leak detection system - Nubo Sphere. It is designed as a future-proof, end-to-end solution offering high performance at low total cost of ownership, thus changing the state-of-the-art in methane leak detection. It has never been easier to reliably locate and quantify unintended methane emissions across various industries. The deployment of real-time, continuous methane concentration data enables leak detection much earlier than was previously possible through human interaction, ensuring fast, accurate and cost-saving damage control through rapid incident response actions for increased safety and a reduced environmental burden.

Methane (CH₄) concentrations in the atmosphere have increased by more than 150 % since 1750 and are considered a major contributor to global warming. CH₄ has been identified as an even more powerful greenhouse gas than CO₂, making an immediate reduction of emissions necessary. Given its short-lived nature, there are actionable options that reduce the environmental burden on a short timescale. In the US alone, around 13 million tons of CH₄ are being released into the air each year - enough to heat ten million homes for a year. Studies show, however, that only about 40 % of CH₄ in the atmosphere originates from natural sources such as volcanoes or permafrost soils, while the remaining percentage is caused by human activities. Reducing that portion of the total CH₄ emissions has thus become a priority for leading nations across the globe, as only then will it be possible to achieve the goals of climate initiatives like the Paris Agreement. And although anthropogenic emissions come from a variety of sources, the oil and gas industry represents the energy sector's largest source of emissions, holding the key to responding to the world's climate challenge.

Relying on Sensirion's market-leading environmental and air quality sensing know-how paired with expertise in scaling solutions into high volumes, Sensirion is therefore developing a stationary methane leak detection system, "Nubo Sphere", for use along the whole oil and gas value chain. It is an end-to-end solution for real-time monitoring of methane emissions, offering high performance at low total cost of ownership. The compact and robust system design enables reliable and highly accurate data from any natural gas infrastructure at all times via data upload to the Nubo cloud. It is fast to deploy and easy to use, while two exchangeable sensor cartridges ensure low maintenance expenses and provide a future-proof, sustainable set-up. The system follows the concept of plug and play: mount your Nubo Sphere nodes on-site and start measuring within minutes.

"With Nubo Sphere, we enable various industries, including oil and gas, to locate and quantify methane leaks reliably and cost-efficiently. Sensirion's offering is unique: cost-efficient yet highly reliable, easy to use and maintain, and based on yet another innovative sensor technology from Sensirion. It makes me very proud to provide the oil and gas industry with the right tool to enable its efforts in methane emissions reduction and thus contribute to stopping climate warming", says Susanne Pianezzi, Sales Director at Sensirion.

On October 12 and 13, Sensirion will participate in the CH₄ Connections 2021 conference in Fort Collins, United States. The methane emissions conference will highlight energy industry players promoting methane emissions reductions across the energy value chain as a pathway to a low-carbon world by addressing how effective regulations, science-based methane accounting principles, advances in methane emissions research, and leak detection technologies can accelerate the transition to a low-carbon world. Visit the event to talk to Sensirion's experts about the Nubo Sphere solution.

More information about the CH₄ Connections Conference can be found at:

Learn more about Nubo Sphere or contact us at:

About Sensirion - Experts for Environmental and Flow Sensor Solutions

Headquartered in Switzerland, Sensirion AG is a globally leading manufacturer of digital microsensors and systems for high-performance air quality and environmental monitoring solutions. With more than 1 billion sensors produced, Sensirion provides cutting-edge solutions to the medical, industrial and automotive sectors, as well as next-generation gas analyzers to the oil and gas industry for flare gas analysis and mud logging decision support.

Besides sensor components for the measurement of humidity and temperature, VOCs, CO₂ and particulate matter (PM2.5), its product range includes end-to-end solutions like Nubo Air and Nubo Sphere.

An international network with sales offices in the US, Europe, China, Taiwan, Japan and Korea supplies international customers with standard and custom sensor system solutions for a wide range of applications. Sensirion's credentials as a reliable supplier are evident from its loyal customer base, its reputation for quality and its excellent customer service.