Pre-feasibility study for an underground hydrogen storage demonstration
R&D Focus Areas:
Underground storage, Techno-economic evaluation
Lead Organisation:
CO2CRC
Partners:
CSIRO
Status:
Completed
Start date:
December 2021
Completion date:
June 2022
Key contacts:
CSIRO: Jonathan.Ennis-King@csiro.au
CO2CRC: Max.Watson@co2crc.com.au
Funding:
Beyond H2, CO2CRC, CSIRO
Project total cost:
AUD$1.2 million
Project summary description:
If hydrogen production does ramp up significantly in Australia over the next decade, then there will be a need for storage options to balance supply and demand, both for domestic purposes and for export. Once the storage needs in a single location exceed tens of tonnes, then underground hydrogen storage (UHS) becomes competitive for reasons of both cost and safety. The current commercial technology in this area is salt cavern storage, where the caverns are created by using the circulation of water via a deep well to dissolve salt. This depends on the presence of thick salt deposits (preferably several hundred metres), but in Australia this is limited to a few geographic areas, and so there is a need for other underground storage options, such as depleted gas fields, aquifers, and hard rock caverns.
This project, a partnership between CO2CRC and CSIRO, is a pre-feasibility study for a demonstration of underground hydrogen storage in a depleted gas field at CO2CRC’s Otway International Test Centre. The aim of this pre-feasibility study is to investigate the viability of UHS and understand the potential subsurface H2 storage processes.
For the sub-surface aspect, this will involve geological modelling, numerical simulation of the behaviour of hydrogen in the depleted gas field, and a preliminary assessment of the potential geochemical and microbiological interactions.
For the surface operation, this will involve an assessment of options for the supply and transport of hydrogen for the demonstration, the surface facilities needed, the well infrastructure, the legal and regulatory framework, and the social license.
Related publications and key links:
The surface challenges of underground hydrogen storage – pre-feasibility studies at the Otway International Test Centre, Victoria; David Whittam, Jai Pandit, Kwong Soon Chan, Max Watson and Matthias Raab. APPEA J. 63: S473-S477 (2023) https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ22202
Developing Australia’s underground hydrogen storage through demonstration; Max Watson, Jonathan Ennis-King, Allison Hortle and Matthias Raab. APPEA J. 62: S196-S199 (2022) https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ21070
Geomechanics of hydrogen storage in a depleted gas field; Eric Tenthorey , W. Moh Hsiao, Ratih Puspitasari , Marie Ann Giddins, Zachariah John Pallikathekathil, Rashmin Dandekar, Olivia Suriyanto, Andrew J. Feitz. Int. J. Hydrogen Energy 60: 636-649 (2024) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2024.02.189
The following are abstracts only:
Ennis-King, Jonathan and Green, Chris and Tang, David and Dance, Tess and Barraclough, Paul, Modelling of a Pilot Test of Underground Hydrogen Storage in a Depleted Gas Field in the Onshore Otway Basin (February 10, 2023). Proceedings of the Australian Hydrogen Research Conference 2023 (AHRC 2023) 8-10 February 2023, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4478014 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4478014
Gong, Se and Schinteie, Richard and Tran-Dinh, Nai and Ennis-King, Jonathan and Midgley, David J., Microbial and Geochemical Impacts on Underground Hydrogen Storage (February 10, 2023). Proceedings of the Australian Hydrogen Research Conference 2023 (AHRC 2023) 8-10 February 2023, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4478012 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4478012
Higher degree studies supported:
Not applicable
Reviewed: December 2024