Storage of hydrogen in geological structures

Hydrogen economy became one of the main directions in EU’s Green Deal for making Europe climate neutral in 2050. Hydrogen will be produced with the use of renewable energy sources or it will be obtained from coking plants and chemical companies. It will be applied as ecological fuel for cars and as a mix with methane in gas distribution networks. Works connected with all aspects of hydrogen infrastructure are conducted in Poland. The key problem in creating a hydrogen system is hydrogen storage. They ought to be underground (RES) because of their potential volume. Three types of underground storages are taken into account. There are salt caverns, exploited gas reservoirs and aquifers. Salt caverns were built in Poland and now they are fully operational methane storages. Oli and Gas Institute – National Research Institute has been collaborating with the Polish Oil and Gas Company since 1998. Salt cavern storage exists and is used as methane storages. Now it is possible to use them as methane-hydrogen mixtures storages with full control of all operational parameters (appropriate algorithms are established). Extensive study works were carried out in relation to depleted gas reservoirs/aquifers: from laboratory investigations to numerical modelling. The consortium with Silesian University of Technology was created, capable of carrying out all possible projects in this field. The consortium is already able to undertake the project of adapting the depleted field to a methane-hydrogen storage or, depending on the needs, to a hydrogen storage. All types of investigations of reservoir rocks and reservoir fluids will be taken into consideration