An NETL researcher who leads a multi-national laboratory effort to determine the viability, safety, and reliability of storing hydrogen in subsurface environments recently told an international audience of National Academy Committee on Earth Sciences that hydrogen’s potential as a flexible fuel for many end users depends upon a reliable system of subsurface storage facilities.

Angela Goodman, Ph.D., who, in addition to her work at NETL, leads the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Subsurface Hydrogen Assessment, Storage and Technology Acceleration (SHASTA), briefed the committee about the use of hydrogen and subsurface storage needs. She was joined on a panel discussion by SHASTA researchers Nicolas Huerta of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Joshua White of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and Mathew Ingraham of Sandia National Labs.

Congress established the National Academy of Sciences in 1863 to advise the nation on issues related to science and technology. The National Academies convenes the best minds across disciplines to make progress on pressing societal challenges. The organization is mobilizing to galvanize action toward net-zero emissions and a more resilient, more sustainable future.

Hydrogen is emerging as a low-carbon fuel option for transportation, electricity generation, manufacturing applications, and clean energy technologies that will accelerate transition to a low-carbon economy.

“There are advantages of underground hydrogen storage compared to storing it on the surface in tanks,” Goodman explained in her presentation. “Gas can be stored at greater pressure and mass density than in surface storage tanks. Construction costs associated with subsurface injection and well infrastructure are lower than the cost of creating storage tanks. The land area occupied by well pads and pipelines is smaller than that of storage tanks. And, subsurface storage reduces vulnerability to fire, extreme climate events and sabotage.”

Goodman explained that four main types of underground gas storage are suitable for hydrogen: salt caverns, hard rock caverns, depleted reservoirs and brine aquifers.

She said underground storage has long been used for long-duration natural gas storage, and many qualified subsurface energy storage sites are distributed through the United States. Many are located near urban centers where natural gas demand is greatest.

She said some of those underground storage facilities could be converted to accommodate hydrogen storage. She added that there is growing interest in using those facilities to accommodate natural gas and hydrogen.

“Many of those facilities are now operating below their maximum volume,” Goodman said.

She said that SHASTA and other researchers continue to examine key considerations of subsurface hydrogen storage like how to manage reservoir flow dynamics, well integrity and microbiology and geochemistry implications.

The audience for the SHASTA presentation was a mix of people from U.S. and international government agencies, academia, non-profit organizations, and industry. The event provided the committee and invited experts an opportunity to engage federal agencies and decision makers on matters of national and global importance.

A recording of the event can be found here: https://www.nationalacademies.org/event/06-08-2023/the-role-of-the-subsurface-in-a-hydrogen-economy.

DOE’s Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management established SHASTA in 2021 to explore hydrogen storage opportunities in geologic reservoirs.

NETL drives innovation and delivers technological solutions for an environmentally sustainable and prosperous energy future. By using its world-class talent and research facilities, NETL is ensuring affordable, abundant and reliable energy that drives a robust economy and national security, while developing technologies to manage carbon across the full life cycle, enabling environmental sustainability for all Americans.