Mattias Borg awarded for low-cost monitoring of methane emissions

Since its launch in 2017, the Future Innovations Award has recognised ideas that can “change our world for the better”. This year, the awards were worth a total of SEK 800,000 from Sparbanken Skåne. 

One of the honorary prizes was awarded to Mattias Borg, Johannes Svensson, and Johan Lundgren, all from Electromagnetics and Nanoelectronics at the Faculty of Engineering (LTH). 

Combat climate change with an infrared camera

They received the award for the development of an infrared sensor technology that works at room temperature. This is a significant departure from current systems, which necessitate expensive cryogenic cooling – that is, cooling something down to an extremely low temperature, typically below -150 °C. 

An exciting project. The technology focuses on methane emissions, which have a major climate impact.

The technology enables efficient and low-cost monitoring of methane emissions on a large scale. For example, it can be used to monitor Sweden's hundreds of kilometres of pipelines. 

“This is an exciting project. The technology focuses on methane emissions, which have a major climate impact. This is important to address to reach the global climate goals,” says jury member Per Hökfelt.

According to the UN, human-caused methane emissions could be reduced by 45% within the decade to save 260,000 lives and help reach the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C. The subsequent reduction in ground-level ozone would also prevent 260,000 deaths annually by improving air quality.

The motivation:

Detecting greenhouse gas leaks with room-temperature camera sensor

This team has developed mid-wavelength infrared sensor technology that has the potential to transform greenhouse gas detection. Unlike current sensors that require expensive cryogenic cooling, their solution operates at room temperature with equivalent sensitivity, while enabling lower-cost manufacturing. The technology targets methane emissions, which have 84 times the global warming potential of CO₂ over 20 years, making reduction critical for achieving global climate goals. Applications include continuous industrial monitoring and leak detection, with scalable potential across oil, gas, and energy industries.

Curious about the other awards? Read more below.

Innovative ideas and pioneering solutions from Lund University celebrated (Lund University website)