The first trial phase of HyStorage with a 5% share of H2 was successfully completed at the end of January 2024. This was announced by the project partners on 13 March. In the presence of the Bavarian State Minister for Economic Affairs, Regional Development and Energy, Hubert Aiwanger, the partner companies yesterday presented the first interim results of the research project, which aims to investigate the integrity of pore storage systems for hydrogen storage, to representatives from politics and industry at the selected drilling site near the Uniper Bierwang storage facility.
As part of the HyStorage project, three different methane/hydrogen gas mixtures with 5 per cent, 10 per cent and 25 per cent hydrogen content in the natural gas will be injected into a smaller former natural gas reservoir and, after a three-month service life in each case, stored again and transferred to the station's main field pipeline system. The first operating phase with 5 per cent hydrogen serves to fundamentally test the suitability of the technical facilities, the second will establish comparability with other international industrial projects and the third is a continuation and preparation for future, higher hydrogen concentrations, but also for possible hydrogen peaks due to concentration fluctuations in the natural gas infrastructure.
„HyStorage is part of the implementation of Uniper's 'Greener Gases' strategy and serves to prepare commercial storage projects“, says Holger Kreetz, COO of Uniper. „The storage of hydrogen in the Bavarian pore storage facilities harbours enormous potential for the flexibility of the emerging hydrogen market. However, an orderly transition and an integrated view of natural gas and hydrogen demand is needed to ensure decarbonisation and a rapid hydrogen ramp-up while maintaining security of natural gas supply with high cost efficiency. Investments require a regulatory framework that should incentivise early investments. The principles of contracts for difference should be applied to achieve the objectives in a cost-efficient and effective manner.“
Experienced project partners also cooperate on data analysis
The close cooperation and expertise of the five experienced European project partners Uniper, OGE, RAG Austria, SEFE Securing Energy for Europe and NAFTA as well as the scientific monitoring of the trial ensured that the data collected during the first phase was analysed and evaluated in detail.
- During the 7-day extraction phase, almost 90 % of the previously injected hydrogen was recovered. The analysis showed that the performance of the reservoir remained the same and that there was a very homogeneous distribution of hydrogen within the reservoir.
- Material testing was successfully carried out during the test underground and next to the borehole in a special pressurised container. All preliminary results of the tested materials showed no influence of hydrogen corrosion.
- The gas composition was analysed in detail at three points in the process to ensure the accuracy of the results and safe operation.
- Microbiological activities, such as methanisation and sulphate reduction, were detected on a small scale. In preparation for the trial, a special hydrogen simulation model was developed exclusively for HyStorage, which simulates both the hydrogen and natural gas flow in the reservoir and the microbiological activity. The model was tested and all the data obtained will be used to calibrate the model in order to make even more accurate predictions in the future.
Conclusion and outlook
„The initial preliminary results are generally optimistic," says Doug Waters, Managing Director of Uniper Energy Storage. „It is still too early to make a definitive statement about the suitability of the porous rock formations in southern Germany - and thus the Alpine Molasse Basin in general - for pure hydrogen storage. What is certain, however, is that hydrogen will be a key component in the decarbonisation process of the European energy market. With their large volumes and high injection and withdrawal rates, the existing underground storage facilities in Bavaria are of great importance for the security of natural gas supply in the coming years and, in the long term, for the transition to seasonal hydrogen storage. They offer a solution for the storage of volatile renewable energies and also for the connection to European hydrogen corridors.“
In the coming project phases, further steps are planned to investigate whether the initial results are also valid for the following phases with higher concentrations and further exposures to hydrogen overall. Depending on the further evaluation, the second operating phase will follow this year.
(Quelle: Uniper)