Project description
A boost for Europe’s hydrogen underground storage
As the first EU-funded project aiming to demonstrate large-scale, green hydrogen underground storage in salt caverns, HYPSTER marks a new stage in energy transition for phasing out fossil energy, in favour of renewable, carbon-free energy sources. Specifically, the project will define relevant cyclic tests to be performed based on the needs of emerging hydrogen regions across Europe. It will also assess the risks and environmental impacts of hydrogen cyclic storage in salt caverns and provide guidelines for safety, regulations and standards. By the end of the project, at least three companies will have used the hydrogen storage and three potential sites will have replicated the cyclic hydrogen storage elsewhere in Europe.
Objective
To prevent catastrophic climate change, we must rapidly shift to low carbon, renewable energies. Yet, 65% of Europe’s energy demand is still met by natural gas and other fossil fuels. Hydrogen provides solutions to several energy and climate problems. Geological hydrogen storage, like today’s natural gas storage, is needed to store variable renewable energies and flexibly provide green hydrogen mobility, industry and residential uses. HYPSTER aims to demonstrate the industrial-scale operation of cyclic H2 storage in salt caverns to support the emergence of the hydrogen energy economy in Europe in line with overall Hydrogen Europe road-mapping.
The specific objectives are to:
•Define relevant cyclic tests to be performed based on modelling and the needs of emerging hydrogen regions across Europe
•Demonstrate the viable operation of H2 cyclic storage for the full range of use-cases of emerging European hydrogen regions
•Assess the economic feasibility of large-scale cyclic H2 storage to define the roadmap for future replication across the EU
•Assess the risks and environmental impacts of H2 cyclic storage in salt caverns and provide guidelines for safety, regulations and standards
•Commit at least 3 companies to using the hydrogen storage and 3 potential sites to replicate the cyclic hydrogen storage elsewhere in Europe on a commercial-scale by the end of the project
HYPSTER will pave the way towards replication with the target to go below 1€/kg for H2 storage cost for the potential 40 TWh salt cavern storage sites in Europe. The project coordinator STORENGY will massively invest for the upscaling of Europe’s first large-scale, cyclic salt cavern in operation by 2025 and 3 more targeted by 2030.
HYPSTER brings together 9 European partners including 2 RTOs for technology development, and 6 industries including 2 SME, plus 1 public-private cluster association to ensure maximum dissemination and uptake of HYPSTER results.
Fields of science
- engineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringenergy and fuelsfossil energynatural gas
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesecologyecosystems
- natural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesatmospheric sciencesclimatologyclimatic changes
- engineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringenergy and fuelsrenewable energyhydrogen energy
Keywords
Programme(s)
- H2020-EU.3.3. - SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Secure, clean and efficient energy Main Programme
- H2020-EU.3.3.8.3. - Demonstrate on a large scale the feasibility of using hydrogen to support integration of renewable energy sources into the energy systems, including through its use as a competitive energy storage medium for electricity produced from renewable energy sources
Funding Scheme
IA - Innovation actionCoordinator
92270 Bois Colombes
France