Research project H2CAST-Ready

H2 Cavern Storage Transition – Development of a demonstration plant for cavern storage of hydrogen at the Etzel site (underground research)

Credit:

MU Niedersachsen

Hydrogen will play a key role in the future energy system as an energy carrier, storage medium and raw material for industry. Underground storage caverns are a central component of the planned hydrogen infrastructure. Although such storage facilities for natural gas have been tried and tested for decades, operation with hydrogen is far more complex. In particular, the short time intervals between injection and withdrawal pose a challenge. The H2CAST-Ready project, which is funded by the Lower Saxony Ministry for the Environment, Energy and Climate Protection, aims to find out how this operation can be guaranteed safely and efficiently. The project aims to demonstrate the feasibility of large-volume underground storage of hydrogen and to prove the suitability of salt caverns for hydrogen storage.

Research project H2CAST-Ready

 

Duration

February 2022 to December 2024

Funded by

Lower Saxony Ministry for the Environment, Energy and Climate (Niedersächsisches Ministerium für Umwelt, Energie und Klimaschutz)

Project participants

  • STORAG ETZEL GmbH
  • Institute of Networked Energy Systems
  • DEEP.KBB GmbH
  • Hartmann Valves GmbH
  • SOCON Sonar Control Kavernenvermessung GmbH
  • TU Clausthal

The plan is to convert two salt caverns at a depth of more than 1000 metres at the Etzel site for hydrogen testing purposes. A brine shuttle system will be set up for injection and withdrawal, which will be used to flexibly adjust the storage cavity filled with hydrogen by changing the brine level. The main challenges and objectives here are to adapt the existing gas caverns and the above-ground facilities for hydrogen storage and to ensure material and operational safety through extensive testing.

A further project focus will be on integrating the hydrogen caverns into the regional and European hydrogen network, in particular by connecting them to the hydrogen core network and the Energy Hub Port of Wilhelmshaven near the Etzel cavern site. The possibility of utilising existing infrastructure is to be tested and the scalability of hydrogen storage demonstrated. The promotion of the regional hydrogen economy through cooperation with industrial partners and local authorities is also part of the project. In addition, the aim is to disseminate knowledge about the storage of this key raw material for the energy transition and thus create acceptance among the population.

The project is divided into several phases, from the preliminary investigation of the subsurface to the conversion of the systems and test operation through to the subsequent evaluation of the results and optimisation of the processes. The Institute of Networked Energy Systems is focussing on a systemic overall view of the demonstration project. This involves modelling components as accurately as possible. This allows the simulative determination of expected hydrogen scenarios with regard to operation, dynamics and storage requirements for the Etzel site, considering different scenarios.

Departments, research groups and challenges related to the H2CAST-Ready project:

Department

Urban and Residential Technologies

The Urban and Residential Technologies Department is working on developing and coupling new and innovative system-relevant individual technologies and components. One priority research area relates to active building envelopes.

Research Group

Sector Integration – Gas Technology

The Sector Integration – Gas Technology research group is dedicated to the question of how certain infrastructures can be operated with hydrogen from a technical and economic point of view.

Challenge

Grid management: Electricity, gas, and heating grids

To ensure that energy is not only available on the balance sheet, but also in the right place at the right time, electricity, gas, and heating grids must be analysed in anticipation of future challenges, adapted in their operational management and modernised and expanded in terms of infrastructure.

Contact

Sector Integration – Gas Technology

Research Group
Institute of Networked Energy Systems