Briefing · Energy
The camera that sees what operators cannot
Spain’s SENSIA is using infrared imaging and artificial intelligence to find, measure and report gas leaks while they are happening.
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- Recorded on site · 1
Most methane leaks do not announce themselves. There is no dramatic cloud and often nothing an operator can see with the naked eye. Yet the gas may still be escaping, costing money and adding to emissions until somebody finds it.
That is the problem Spanish technology company SENSIA has brought to Gastech. Its infrared cameras make otherwise invisible gas plumes visible, while software helps detect, locate and quantify what the camera is seeing.
From a picture to a decision
Optical gas imaging is already used in leak detection and repair programmes, but SENSIA is pushing beyond a person simply watching a thermal image. Its RedLook platform combines infrared hardware with AI-assisted analysis, automatic alerts and reporting.
The practical difference is speed. A system that continuously watches a plant can flag a release as it happens, identify where it is coming from and give operators information they can act on. That can reduce the time between a leak beginning and a repair team being sent.
One technology, several jobs
SENSIA’s equipment covers both handheld surveys and fixed monitoring. The Mileva 33 is designed for optical gas imaging and quantification during inspections. Fixed systems can continuously monitor areas for methane and other gases, while the company’s Agni system remotely monitors flare combustion efficiency.
The same infrared and analytical approach also reaches into asset integrity. Thermal changes can reveal abnormal equipment behaviour before it becomes obvious through conventional inspection. For operators, that connects emissions monitoring, maintenance and safety rather than treating them as three unrelated exercises.
AI that has to earn its place
Gastech is full of companies putting AI into their message. SENSIA’s proposition is more tangible than most because the technology has a specific job: watch an industrial scene, recognise a gas plume or thermal anomaly, and turn it into an alert and a record.
The important questions are still operational. How reliably does it distinguish a real release from background movement? How accurately can it quantify emissions in changing weather? How well does it integrate with the systems and working practices already inside a plant?
Those are the tests that matter. If the answers stand up in the field, infrared imaging can move leak detection from periodic inspection towards continuous awareness, helping operators find problems earlier and show what they did about them.
The Stratawire is reporting from Gastech 2026 in Bangkok.
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This story is backed by 1 recorded source in The Stratawire newsroom.
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