Welcome to the new Energy Central — same great community, now with a smoother experience. To login, use your Energy Central email and reset your password.

Energy Business
Tariq Siddiqui
Tariq Siddiqui
Top Contributor
 · Posted in Energy Business

Re-Imaging Energy: Underground H2 Storage - From Project to Regional Hub

By 2035, additional 1.6 billion people will require energy, as global population hits 8.7 Billion. The finite fossil fuel resources with considerable Greenhouse Gas (GHG) impact would require a cleaner, sustainable and long-tern alternatives. Avoidance projects ( solar / wind) alone cannot solve the problem, Hydrogen energy offers one such alternative.

  1. Existing Markets: Long-term strategy in existing hydrogen markets requires converting Grey hydrogen produced using fossil fuel (methane) to Blue hydrogen using CCS (leveraging existing infrastructure)
  2. New Hydrogen Markets : Long-term requires commercialization of Green Hydrogen (developing new infrastructure)
  3. Underground H2 Storage Option
  • Physical storage options like surface storage in high-pressure vessel are ver expensive and small scale.
  • Material Storage options in surface are attractive for transportation but currently in research realm.
  1. Underground Hydrogen Storage (UHS) is a key enabling technology for the advancement of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies in applications including stationary power, portable power, and transportation.

Moving from stand-alone project to regional hub will reduce cost and  risk .  Three capabilities are required to have competitive advantage

  1. Site Characterization  - Data  Driven 
  2. Venture Shaping - Business Driven (Most challenging)
  3. Project and Asset Development ( Project Management & Engineering Driven)

Underground Storage Options

  1. Salt Caverns - Currently most commonly used.
  2. Depleted Oil & Gas (DOG) Fields
  3. Saline Aquifer

Bottomline

A Regional Hydrogen Hub (RHH), plays a pivotal role in harnessing economies of scale. An industrial hub/port with, several refineries and chemical plant in proximity, along with network of natural gas, CO2 and Hydrogen pipelines, with several salt caverns and CCS sinks in proximity and existing infrastructure can all help bring down the cost.  UK’s Teeside is a good example and Houston shipping channel meets the description for Houston Hydrogen Hub.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


1 reply