EMPIT's Groundbreaking Collaboration in Corrosion Assessment
About the DVGW Research Project
In January 2024, EMPIT announced its lead role in a collaborative research project funded in part by the DVGW (Deutscher Verein des Gas- und Wasserfaches). The project brings together some of Germany's most established pipeline operators to evaluate and advance external corrosion assessment methods for buried steel pipelines.
The initiative focuses on validating the use of aboveground inspection technologies under real-world operating conditions — with the aim of establishing reliable, standardized approaches to corrosion detection that do not require pipeline shutdowns or excavation.
Pipeline Operators Involved
The project consortium includes major transmission and distribution network operators: Thyssengas, Gascade, Swissgas, Westnetz, SWB, and SGN, among others. Their participation provides access to a wide range of pipeline types, soil conditions, coating systems, and operational scenarios — ensuring that findings are representative of the broader European pipeline infrastructure.
What CMI Contributes to the Project
EMPIT's Current Magnetometry Inspection (CMI) is at the centre of this research. CMI applies a multi-frequency electrical current to the pipeline and uses patented spectrum analysis to evaluate the coating condition and corrosion activity from above ground — a fully non-invasive pipeline inspection method that requires no physical access to the pipe interior.
Within this project, CMI's ability to distinguish active corrosion from passivated defects is being evaluated against excavation findings and complementary inspection data. The goal is to quantify detection reliability and support the integration of CMI into pipeline integrity management programmes aligned with ISO 15589-1.
Expected Outcomes and Industry Impact
The project is expected to deliver validated performance data for aboveground corrosion assessment methods, contributing to future industry guidelines and potentially informing revisions of existing pipeline integrity standards. For operators managing networks that include unpiggable pipelines or segments where In-Line Inspection is impractical, the results could broaden the range of accepted assessment tools.
EMPIT's involvement underscores its commitment to evidence-based technology validation — working alongside operators and industry bodies rather than relying solely on proprietary claims.
Get Involved or Learn More
If you are a pipeline operator interested in participating in collaborative research, or if you want to learn more about how CMI technology is being validated in the field, contact our team.