Storage of hydrogen sub surface

Australia’s National Hydrogen Strategy1, released in 2019, envisions a hydrogen industry that is clean, innovative, safe, and competitive, benefiting all Australians and positioning the country as a major global player by 2030. Hydrogen can be produced through various methods2, including electrolysis, gasification, pyrolysis, fermentation, photosynthetic algae, and emerging technologies like photo- and thermo-electrochemical processes, high-temperature fuel cells, and even nuclear-assisted systems. A clean, renewable hydrogen industry is characterized by low emissions. While the scale of hydrogen production, storage, and handling is expected to grow significantly in the coming decades, the readiness and cost-effectiveness of Australia’s global competitiveness remain a challenge from now until 2050 and beyond. Supported by Linde/BOC, this project aims to establish harmonized interactions between hydrogen production and utilization by enabling more efficient and sustainable storage and transport solutions. Currently, large-scale hydrogen storage is primarily achieved in cryogenic liquid or high-pressure compressed forms. Despite significant advancements in hydrogen production and end-user applications, the development of large-scale storage still lags behind, limiting the potential for widespread use and export.

Investment in the infrastructure, operation, and maintenance of existing storage methods is both costly and complex. However, subsurface storage through geological formations and engineered solutions (e.g., connected pipes, lined rock caverns, lined pipes) show significant potential for improving productivity and reducing overall storage costs (see Figure 1) This potential has led to this ToR project using a Techno-Economic Analysis (TEA) approach, focusing on Method 1 and 2 (of Figure 1).