Geoscientists from the University of Edinburgh are moving forward with the HyStorPor project, a study to advance the potential for large-scale underground hydrogen storage

In their quest to better understand underground hydrogen storage, geoscientists from the University of Edinburgh are pursuing their unique HyStorPor (Hydrogen Storage in Porous Media) project. The team of scientists have received £1.4 million ($1.5 million) in funding from the Engineering and Physical Research Council (EPSRC) to explore the underground hydrogen storage in porous rocks.

Whilst commercial scale underground hydrogen storage has never been tried before researchers claim that it could be one of the keys to overcoming the intermittency issues associated with wind and solar energy. The large-scale generation and storage of hydrogen, generated from excess renewable energy or steam reformation of methane with carbon capture and storage (CCS), could also replace methane for domestic heating, thereby reducing carbon emissions from one of the UK’s largest sources.

Several areas of underground hydrogen storage will be explored

According to The Engineer, there will be several areas investigated throughout the project. Some of these include:

• Whether hydrogen could react with the rocks into which it is injected
• How much of the injected hydrogen can actually be recovered from the rock
• How effectively the gas migrates through water-filled porous media

Additionally, the team will use digital computer models that can calculate how efficiently the H2 can be injected, and predict how much of it can be recovered throughout operation.

“On the pathway to cleaner air and in the fight against climate change, it is very likely that the UK will change heating in homes and industry from high-carbon methane gas to zero-carbon hydrogen and ammonia. Lead Professor Stuart Haszeldine discussed the initiative and stated, “A very key component of that transition is storing hydrogen created in the summer for use in the winter.

Our work with hydrogen

In an effort to contribute to the transformation, Universal Kraft works to integrate environmentally friendly, cost-effective solutions throughout the whole power production chain. We have been working with green hydrogen production for several years through our partner company Universal H2.

We think hydrogen could address some of the major issues facing the energy transition, including storage, the distribution of clean energy, industrial use, and heavy transportation. In the new era of renewables, hydrogen and ammonia are a green option to fossil fuels, providing the same functionality on a large scale.

In addition to direct electrification, hydrogen allows the green industry to make an impact outside of the grid through the production of green hydrogen for energy storage, gas greening through hydrogen methanation, and feedstock for locally produced, high-temperature industrial processes that are challenging to electrify.

A comprehensive and sustained shift to renewable energy depends on these green power options. For a period of years, Universal Kraft has been developing novel and alternative energy storage technologies.

Discover more about our solutions here.

ALSO READ GREEN HYDROGEN BREAKTHROUGH SEES WATER TURNED TO ENERGY AT ROOM TEMPERATURE.