In Europe’s future energy system hydrogen will play an important role in i) decarbonizing hard-to-abate end-uses, and ii) enabling renewables penetration, cost-effective transport and distribution of clean energy, and system resilience. A unique advantage of hydrogen is that it can be stored in large quantities in the subsurface, in porous reservoirs or salt caverns, where hydrogen can be stored for longer periods ranging from days to seasons. Underground hydrogen storage in porous reservoirs is a key enabler to unlock the benefits of hydrogen because it i) offers flexibility to balance supply and demand of hydrogen, maximize renewables integration and reduce curtailment, ii) enables optimization of infrastructure sizing and increases system resilience, and iii) improves energy security and independence by enabling long-duration energy storage and maintaining strategic reserves. Natural gas is since many decades stored in large quantities in porous reservoirs in the subsurface in many countries in Europe. While the expectation is that hydrogen can also be safely, reliably and affordably stored in porous reservoirs, this technology is not yet fully established.
The HyUSPRe project was initiated with the aim to establish the feasibility and potential of implementing large-scale storage of renewable hydrogen in porous reservoirs in Europe. It identified suitable geological reservoirs for hydrogen storage in Europe, addressed specific technical issues and risks associated with storage of hydrogen in porous reservoirs and conducted a techno-economic analysis to facilitate the decision-making process regarding the development of a portfolio of potential field pilots.
HyUSPRe research on scenarios for a future coupled electricity-hydrogen energy system finds that up to 270 TWh of storage capacity will be required in 2050 to support a fully developed hydrogen value chain, of which the majority (60%) is to be developed in porous reservoirs. Existing reserves for storage of natural gas in porous reservoirs operated today can provide between 340-415 TWh of storage capacity for hydrogen. These reserves are highly attractive because they are established, integrated into our living environment, and well connected to the natural gas infrastructure that will be partly reused for hydrogen. Beyond this reserve, depleted gasfields and aquifers onshore and offshore are potential resources for additional storage capacity.
Furthermore, HyUSPRe’ s laboratory-scale experimental research, in combination with integrated modeling at the reservoir and near-wellbore scale, contributed to establishing the important geochemical, geomechanical, microbiological, and flow and transport processes in porous reservoirs in the presence of hydrogen. It provided better understanding of the key processes and risks associated with storing hydrogen in porous reservoirs in the subsurface, developed an improved open-source models for site-specific studies, and produced datasets that can be used to inform and validate these models.
Finally, HyUSPRe delivered a roadmap for the successful deployment of underground hydrogen storage in porous reservoirs in Europe up to 2050. In this roadmap, the HyUSPRe consortium proposes actions grouped into five thematic areas that are required for timely deployment of this storage capacity: 1) technology development, upscaling and optimization; 2) management of environmental impacts; 3) establishing business models and economic viability; 4) regulatory framework; and 5) ensuring societal awareness and acceptance.
