UNDERGROUND STORAGE OF HYDROGEN: ASSESSING GEOSTORAGE OPTIONS
WITH A LIFE CYCLE BASED SYSTEMS APPROACH
Anna S. Lord, Sandia National Laboratories, Phone (505) 284-5588, acsnide@sandia.gov
Peter H. Kobos, Sandia National Laboratories, phkobos@sandia.gov
David J. Borns, Sandia National Laboratories, djborns@sandia.gov
Overview
This study assesses the potential for underground storage of hydrogen from a systems perspective. The initial methodology
adopted is to examine the system by first assessing geostorage options today from a performance and full life cycle perspective.
Specifically, three general classes of underground storage are being considered at the conceptual level; salt caverns, aquifers, and
depleted oil/gas reservoirs. These options hold substantial interest largely due to the lessons learned from moderate to large scale
storage of natural gas underground already employed. Conceptually, storing natural gas is largely done in an effort to reduce or
negate instances of short supplies and therefore difficult economic conditions in regional markets across the fluctuating seasonal
demand. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Hydrogen Program has an interest in understanding these types of underground
storage options in an effort to potentially develop additional underground facilities to store hydrogen gas. This study describes
geologic storage, the various storage types, and the advantages and disadvantages of different geologic storage within an integrated
systems framework. An economic analysis is being developed that will characterize the costs entailed in developing and operating
an underground hydrogen storage facility. The first step in the analysis will be to create a cost model examiming salt dome storage,
while follow on work will address other types (e.g., aquifers, depleted oil/gas reservoirs).
Methods
Porous media and cavern storage analysis, System Life Cycle Evaluation, Hydrogen Infrastructure Assessment
Results
The study addresses the underground storage options by first assessing the geological storge performance required to store
hydrogen gas. The study draws from the limited examples of large-scale hydrogen underground storage throughout the world
today. A salt storage cost model calculates the construction costs for a salt storage facility (e.g., solution mining, pipeline
construction costs, etc.), working volume of hydrogen, the compression requirements (e.g., capital, electricity, other costs), cushion
gas requirements, and additional site characteristics. Additionally, the framework will address ongoing valuation assessment (e.g.,
seasonal & options-based value) by developing case studies of feasible, unfeasible, and plausible storage option scenarios to bound
the options analysis when considering potential hydrogen geostorage locations. The same analytical framework will be expanded to
include other geostorage options (e.g., aquifers, depleted oil/gas reservoirs). The framework and subsequent model’s development
is modular by design, allowing it to be used in other larger hydrogen infrastructure assessment models.
Conclusions
With the potential for hydrogen as an intermediary used in industry, as well as its potential to serve as a niche (or greater) fuel
across the economy, secure storage performance options may provide for favourable economics across the full value chain of the
product. As such, several performance and therefore economic risks will have to be more adequately addressed when assessing
underground storage options including the rock properties, potential chemical reactions, hydrogen mixing with the cushion or other
gas, hydrogen separation post-storage, and hydrogen mobility and embrittlement issues.
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Sandia is a multiprogram laboratory operated by Sandia Corporation, a Lockheed Martin Company, for the United States
Department of Energy under Contract DE-AC04-94AL85000. SAND2008-6245C.