Seven Questions On Hydrogen Storage – Gasunie

Seven questions on hydrogen storage – Gasunie.

1. What is the importance of hydrogen storage in the future hydrogen system?

A well-functioning energy market cannot do without effective storage. Supply and demand are usually out of sync, and when they are, short or longer-term storage is a must. And the same is certainly true of green hydrogen, since its production depends on the availability of solar and wind energy.

Storing large quantities of hydrogen ensures the continuous availability of that resource. That way, sustainable hydrogen will always be available to industry and, in the future, hydrogen-fuelled power stations can produce sustainable electricity whenever there is too little electricity available from solar and wind.

2. What plans does Gasunie have for hydrogen storage?

EnergyStock, a subsidiary of Gasunie, has been safely storing natural gas in salt deposits at Zuidwending for more than 10 years. These salt caverns, as they are called, are also ideally suited to the storage of hydrogen. And since 2021, another subsidiary of Gasunie, HyStock, has been building up experience with hydrogen storage in the borehole of the future A8 cavern.

This is how the feasibility of hydrogen storage is being demonstrated. Between now and 2030, HyStock plans to commission up to four caverns for large-scale hydrogen storage.

3. How far along are you with this?

The A8 borehole demonstration project will be completed in early 2023. The knowledge we gain with it will be shared with the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy and the National Mines Inspectorate, as well as with partners in the project. The first cavern to actually be commissioned is the A5. The permitting process for the caverns is underway.

Because hydrogen storage, like the hydrogen network, is of national importance, these projects fall under the government coordination scheme (‘Rijkscoördinatieregeling’). In the first quarter of 2023, the draft Memorandum on Scope and Detailing will be published, and local residents and other stakeholders will be able to react to the plans. For more information (in Dutch) visit the website of the Netherlands Enterprise Agency.

4. A8, A5 … What do those numbers stand for?

The numbers sound like they’re for Dutch highways, which also begin with A, but they’re for salt caverns. Caverns A1 to A7, except for the A5, are currently being used to store natural gas. Caverns A5 and A8 and higher will be developed for hydrogen storage. The current licence allows for 10 salt caverns altogether.

5. So the hydrogen-storage demonstration is almost complete. What are the findings so far?

With this demonstration, we wanted to gain experience with a hydrogen-storage pilot plant, and to assess whether the safety barriers and the methodology that are now being used are appropriate for underground hydrogen storage in salt caverns. The project has provided many great insights and made the following clear:

• The current way of working when it comes to storing natural gas safely is also suitable for hydrogen storage.
• A hydrogen-storage system is manageable in terms of technical integrity, geological containment, stability, and safety.

The demonstration was, in a word, successful.

6. And what are the plans for after the demonstration?

The first cavern we plan to commission is the A5. This has now reached its final shape and its full capacity. We will start construction as soon as the permits required have been granted for the above-ground installation, the underground storage, and the connection with the national hydrogen network. If all goes according to plan, the first cavern will go into operation at the end of 2026.

7. How is such a cavern actually made?

Deep in the soil there is a salt layer. Dissolving this salt with water, and pumping this brine to the surface creates caverns deep underground. You can see exactly how this process works here:

Seven questions on hydrogen storage, January 26, 2023