Hydrogen storage with gravel and pipes in lakes and reservoirs

• Published in: Nature communications 2024-09, Vol.15 (1), p.7723-9, Article 7723
• Main Authors: Hunt, Julian David, Nascimento, Andreas, Romero, Oldrich Joel, Zakeri, Behnam, Jurasz, Jakub, Dąbek, Paweł B., Strzyżewski, Tomasz, Đurin, Bojan, Leal Filho, Walter, Freitas, Marcos Aurélio Vasconcelos, Wada, Yoshihide
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 706/4066/4075; 706/4066/4080; Alternatives; Aquatic organisms; Climate change; Environmental impact; Gravel; Humanities and Social Sciences; Hydroelectric power; Hydrogen; Hydrogen storage; Lakes; multidisciplinary; Natural gas; Pipes; Reservoir storage; Reservoirs; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Social interactions; Storage reservoirs
• ISSN: 2041-1723; 2041-1723
• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-52237-1

Climate change is projected to have substantial economic, social, and environmental impacts worldwide. Currently, the leading solutions for hydrogen storage are in salt caverns, and depleted natural gas reservoirs. However, the required geological formations are limited to certain regions. To increase alternatives for hydrogen storage, this paper proposes storing hydrogen in pipes filled with gravel in lakes, hydropower, and pumped hydro storage reservoirs. Hydrogen is insoluble in water, non-toxic, and does not threaten aquatic life. Results show the levelized cost of hydrogen storage to be 0.17 USD kg −1 at 200 m depth, which is competitive with other large scale hydrogen storage options. Storing hydrogen in lakes, hydropower, and pumped hydro storage reservoirs increases the alternatives for storing hydrogen and might support the development of a hydrogen economy in the future. The global potential for hydrogen storage in reservoirs and lakes is 3 and 12 PWh, respectively. Hydrogen storage in lakes and reservoirs can support the development of a hydrogen economy in the future by providing abundant and cheap hydrogen storage. This paper proposes storing hydrogen in pipes filled with gravel in lakes and reservoirs. Results show the levelized cost of hydrogen storage to be 0.17 USD kg−1 at 200 m depth, which is competitive with other hydrogen storage options.