Transmission, Distribution & Storage

This paper aims to present an overview of the current state of hydrogen storage methods and materials assess the potential benefits and challenges of various storage techniques and outline future research directions towards achieving effective economical safe and scalable storage solutions. Hydrogen is recognized as a clean secure and costeffective green energy carrier with zero emissions at the point of use offering significant contributions to reaching carbon neutrality goals by 2050. Hydrogen as an energy vector bridges the gap between fossil fuels which produce greenhouse gas emissions global climate change and negatively impact health and renewable energy sources which are often intermittent and lack sustainability. However widespread acceptance of hydrogen as a fuel source is hindered by storage challenges. Crucially the development of compact lightweight safe and cost-effective storage solutions is vital for realizing a hydrogen economy. Various storage methods including compressed gas liquefied hydrogen cryocompressed storage underground storage and solid-state storage (material-based) each present unique advantages and challenges. Literature suggests that compressed hydrogen storage holds promise for mobile applications. However further optimization is desired to resolve concerns such as low volumetric density safety worries and cost. Cryo-compressed hydrogen storage also is seen as optimal for storing hydrogen onboard and offers notable benefits for storage due to its combination of benefits from compressed gas and liquefied hydrogen storage by tackling issues related to slow refueling boil-off and high energy consumption. Material-based storage methods offer advantages in terms of energy densities safety and weight reduction but challenges remain in achieving optimal stability and capacities. Both physical and material-based storage approaches are being researched in parallel to meet diverse hydrogen application needs. Currently no single storage method is universally efficient robust and economical for every sector especially for transportation to use hydrogen as a fuel with each method having its own advantages and limitations. Moreover future research should focus on developing novel materials and engineering approaches in order to overcome existing limitations provide higher energy density than compressed hydrogen and cryo-compressed hydrogen storage at 70 MPa enhance costeffectiveness and accelerate the deployment of hydrogen as a clean energy vector.

The global transition towards clean energy sources is becoming essential to reduce reliance on conventional fuels and mitigate carbon emissions. In the future the clean energy storage landscape green hydrogen and green ammonia (powered by renewable energy sources) are emerging as key players. This study explores the prospectives and feasibility of producing and storing offshore green hydrogen and green ammonia. The potential power output of Hornsea one and Hornsea two winds farms in the United Kingdom was calculated using real wind data. The usable electricity from the Hornsea one wind farm was 5.83 TWh/year and from the Hornsea two wind farm it was 6.44 TWh/year harnessed to three different scenarios for the production and storage of green ammonia and green hydrogen. Scenario 1 fulfil the requirement of green hydrogen storage for flexible ammonia production but consumes more energy for green hydrogen compression. Scenario 2 does not offer any hydrogen storage which is not favourable in terms of flexibility and market demand. Scenario 3 offers both a direct routed supply of produced hydrogen for green ammonia synthesis and a storage facility for green hydrogen storage. Detailed mathematical calculations and sensitivity analysis was performed based on the total energy available to find out the energy storage capacity in terms of the mass of green hydrogen and green ammonia produced. Sensitivity analysis in the case of scenario 3 was conducted to determine the optimal percentage of green hydrogen going to the storage facility. Based on the cost evaluation of three different presented scenarios the levelized cost of hydrogen (LCOH) is between USD 5.30 and 5.97/kg and the levelized cost of ammonia (LCOA) is between USD 984.16 and USD 1197.11/tonne. These prices are lower compared to the current UK market. The study finds scenario 3 as the most appropriate way in terms of compression energy savings flexibility for the production and storage capacity that depends upon the supply and demand of these green fuels in the market and a feasible amount of green hydrogen storage.

Integrating renewable energy requires robust large-scale storage solutions to balance intermittent supply. Underground hydrogen storage (UHS) in geological formations such as salt caverns depleted hydrocarbon reservoirs or aquifers offers a promising way to store large volumes of energy for seasonal periods. This review focuses on the biological aspects of UHS examining the biogeochemical interactions between H2 reservoir minerals and key hydrogenotrophic microorganisms such as sulfate-reducing bacteria methanogens acetogens and iron-reducing bacteria within the gas–liquid–rock–microorganism system. These microbial groups use H2 as an electron donor triggering biogeochemical reactions that can affect storage efficiency through gas loss and mineral dissolution–precipitation cycles. This review discusses their metabolic pathways and the geochemical interactions driven by microbial byproducts such as H2S CH4 acetate and Fe2+ and considers biofilm formation by microbial consortia which can further change the petrophysical reservoir properties. In addition the review maps 76 ongoing European projects focused on UHS showing 71% target salt caverns 22% depleted hydrocarbon reservoirs and 7% aquifers with emphasis on potential biogeochemical interactions. It also identifies key knowledge gaps including the lack of in situ kinetic data limited field-scale monitoring of microbial activity and insufficient understanding of mineral–microbe interactions that may affect gas purity. Finally the review highlights the need to study microbial adaptation over time and the influence of mineralogy on tolerance thresholds. By analyzing these processes across different geological settings and integrating findings from European research initiatives this work evaluates the impact of microbial and geochemical factors on the safety efficiency and long-term performance of UHS.

Climate change is projected to have substantial economic social and environmental impacts worldwide. Currently the leading solutions for hydrogen storage are in salt caverns and depleted natural gas reservoirs. However the required geological formations are limited to certain regions. To increase alternatives for hydrogen storage this paper proposes storing hydrogen in pipes filled with gravel in lakes hydropower and pumped hydro storage reservoirs. Hydrogen is insoluble in water non-toxic and does not threaten aquatic life. Results show the levelized cost of hydrogen storage to be 0.17 USD kg−1 at 200 m depth which is competitive with other large scale hydrogen storage options. Storing hydrogen in lakes hydropower and pumped hydro storage reservoirs increases the alternatives for storing hydrogen and might support the development of a hydrogen economy in the future. The global potential for hydrogen storage in reservoirs and lakes is 3 and 12 PWh respectively. Hydrogen storage in lakes and reservoirs can support the development of a hydrogen economy in the future by providing abundant and cheap hydrogen storage.

Hydrogen as a zero-emission fuel produces only water when used in fuel cells making it a vital contributor to reducing greenhouse gas emissions across industries like transportation energy and manufacturing. Efficient hydrogen storage requires lightweight high-strength vessels capable of withstanding high pressures to ensure the safe and reliable delivery of clean energy for various applications. Type V composite pressure vessels (CPVs) have emerged as a preferred solution due to their superior properties thus this study aims to predict the performance of a Type V CPV by developing its numerical model and calculating numerical burst pressure (NBP). For the validation of the numerical model a Hydraulic Burst Pressure test is conducted to determine the experimental burst pressure (EBP). The comparative study between NBP and EBP shows that the numerical model provides an accurate prediction of the vessel’s performance under pressure including the identification of failure locations. These findings highlight the potential of the numerical model to streamline the development process reduce costs and accelerate the production of CPVs that are manufactured by prepreg hand layup process (PHLP) using carbon fiber/epoxy resin prepreg material.

Hydrogen (H2) has been recognized as a promising solution to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. H2 is considered a green energy carrier for energy storage transport and usage and it can be produced from renewable energy resources (such as solar hydropower and wind energy). However H2 is a highly diffusive compound compared to other natural gases raising concerns about the possibility of H2 loss in geo-storage (e.g. in underground geological formations such as depleted oil/gas reservoirs aquifers or shale formations) or H2 leak via pipelines when blending H2 with natural gas in existing pipeline systems. Thus understanding H2 diffusion in subsurface formations and pipeline systems is vital. However despite its importance only limited data is available to assess the above situations. Therefore in this study molecular dynamics simulations were used to predict the self-diffusion coefficients of H2 in water and cushion gases (CH4 and N2) at relevant geothermal conditions (i.e. 300 K–373 K and pressures up to 50 MPa). The findings showed that H2 self-diffusion in methane and nitrogen increases with increasing temperature but decreases with increasing pressure. However H2 selfdiffusion in water increases with increasing temperature but is not impacted by increasing or decreasing pres sure. The results also indicated that the rate of H2 self-diffusion in cushion gas is faster than in water about exceeding two-digit times. Furthermore the outcomes reported extended or new data on H2 self-diffusion for the binary system of H2–H2O H2–CH4 and H2–N2. This study is beneficial and contributes to assessing efficiency and safety for executing H2 transportation and underground hydrogen storage (UHS) schemes.

Underground hydrogen storage in porous rocks is a promising method to stabilize renewable energy fluctuations. However data on the geochemical reactivity of hydrogen with reservoir rocks and its potential effects on reservoir performance are limited. This study investigates the geochemical reactivity of hydrogen with Bunt sandstein reservoir sandstones from northern Germany collected at a depth of about 2.5 km. Experiments were performed at 100 ◦C and 150 bar hydrogen partial pressure for four weeks examining scenarios with dry hydrogen synthetic saline fluid with hydrogen synthetic saline fluid with helium (as a control) and an oxidation environment (air). We measured permeability porosity magnetic susceptibility and fluid element concentration before and after the experiments. Results showed no significant mineral changes attributed to hydrogen. Mag netic susceptibility indicated no formation of magnetic minerals such as magnetite and pyrrhotite. Minor var iations in permeability and porosity were attributed to anhydrite dissolution from fluid chemistry nonequilibrium. Overall our findings suggest hydrogen interactions with Buntsandstein sandstone (no pyrite content) at temperatures up to 100 ◦C do not risk hydrogen loss or reservoir performance degradation.

Photovoltaic (PV) and wind energy generation result in low greenhouse gas footprints and can supply electricity to the grid or generate hydrogen for various applications including seasonal energy storage. Designing integrated wind–PV–electrolyzer underground hydrogen storage (UHS) projects is complex due to the interactions between components. Additionally the capacities of PV and wind relative to the electrolyzer capacity and fluctuating electricity prices must be considered in the project design. To address these challenges process modelling was applied using cost components and parameters from a project in Austria. The hydrogen storage part was derived from an Austrian hydrocarbon gas field considered for UHS. The results highlight the impact of the renewable energy source (RES) sizing relative to the electrolyzer capacity the influence of different wind-to-PV ratios and the benefits of selling electricity and hydrogen. For the case study the levelized cost of hydrogen (LCOH) is EUR 6.26/kg for a RES-to-electrolyzer capacity ratio of 0.88. Oversizing reduces the LCOH to 2.61 €/kg when including electricity sales revenues or EUR 4.40/kg when excluding them. Introducing annually fluctuating electricity prices linked to RES generation results in an optimal RES-to-electrolyzer capacity ratio. The RES-to-electrolyzer capacity can be dynamically adjusted in response to market developments. UHS provides seasonal energy storage in areas with mismatches between RES production and consumption. The main cost components are compression gas conditioning wells and cushion gas. For the Austrian project the levelized cost of underground hydrogen storage (LCHS) is 0.80 €/kg with facilities contributing EUR 0.33/kg wells EUR 0.09/kg cushion gas EUR 0.23/kg and OPEX EUR 0.16/kg. Overall the analysis demonstrates the feasibility of integrated RES–hydrogen generation-seasonal energy storage projects in regions like Austria with systems that can be dynamically adjusted to market conditions.

Hydrogen is used as a fuel in various fields such as aviation space and automobiles due to its high specific energy. Hydrogen can be stored as a compressed gas at high pressure and as a liquid at cryogenic temperatures. In order to keep liquid hydrogen at a cryogenic temperature the tanks for storing liquid hydrogen are required to have insulation to prevent heat leakage. When liquid hydrogen is vaporized by heat inflow a large pressure is generated inside the tank. Therefore a technology capable of predicting the tank pressure is required for cryogenic liquid hydrogen tanks. In this study a thermodynamic model was developed to predict the maximum internal pressure and pressure behavior of cryogenic liquid hydrogen fuel tanks. The developed model considers the heat inflow of the tank due to heat transfer the phase change from liquid to gas hydrogen and the fuel consumption rate. To verify the accuracy of the proposed model it was compared with the analyses and experimental results in the referenced literature and the model presented good results. A cryogenic liquid hydrogen fuel tank was simulated using the proposed model and it was confirmed that the storage time along with conditions such as the fuel filling ratio of liquid hydrogen and the fuel consumption rate should be considered when designing the fuel tanks. Finally it was confirmed that the proposed thermodynamic model can be used to sufficiently predict the internal pressure and the pressure behavior of cryogenic liquid hydrogen fuel tanks.

The hydrogen compatibility of two X65 pipeline steels for transport of hydrogen gas is investigated through microstructural characterization hydrogen permeation measurements and fracture mechanical testing. The investigated materials are a quenched and tempered pipeline steel with a fine-grained homogeneously distributed ferrite-bainite microstructure and hot rolled pipeline steel with a ferrite-pearlite banded microstructure. All tests are performed both under electrochemical and gaseous hydrogen charging conditions. A correlation between electrochemical hydrogen charging and gaseous charging is determined. The results point to inherent differences in the interaction between hydrogen and the two material microstructures. Further research is needed to unveil the influence of material microstructure on hydrogen embrittlement.