Hydrogen storage and geo-methanation in a depleted underground hydrocarbon reservoir

Coupling of power-to-gas processes with underground gas storage could effectively allow surplus electricity to be stored for later use. Depleted hydrocarbon reservoirs could be used as stores, but practical experience of hydrogen storage in such sites is limited. Here we present data from a field tr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature energy 2024-03, Vol.9 (3), p.333-344
Main Authors: Hellerschmied, Cathrine, Schritter, Johanna, Waldmann, Niels, Zaduryan, Artur B., Rachbauer, Lydia, Scherr, Kerstin E., Andiappan, Anitha, Bauer, Stephan, Pichler, Markus, Loibner, Andreas P.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
08 HYDROGEN
45/22
45/23
639/4077/4079/4088/4109
639/4077/909/4053/906/4055
704/106/694/682
biogas
Carbon dioxide
climate-change mitigation
Depletion
Economics and Management
Energy
Energy Policy
Energy Storage
Energy Systems
Feasibility
Field tests
Geologic formations
Hydrocarbons
Hydrogen
Hydrogen storage
Methanation
Methane
Natural gas
Renewable and Green Energy
Reservoirs
Technology assessment
underground hydrogen storage
Underground storage
Underground storage tanks
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Summary:Coupling of power-to-gas processes with underground gas storage could effectively allow surplus electricity to be stored for later use. Depleted hydrocarbon reservoirs could be used as stores, but practical experience of hydrogen storage in such sites is limited. Here we present data from a field trial that stored 119,353 m 3 of hydrogen admixed to natural gas in a depleted hydrocarbon reservoir. After 285 days, hydrogen recovery was 84.3%, indicating the process’s technical feasibility. Additionally, we report that microbes mediated hydrogen conversion to methane. In laboratory experiments studying mesocosms that mimic real reservoirs, hydrogen and carbon dioxide were converted to methane (0.26 mmol l −1  h −1 evolution rate) reproducibly over 14 cycles in 357 days. This rate theoretically allows 114,648 m 3 of methane per year to be produced in the test reservoir (equivalent to ~1.08 GWh). Our research demonstrates the efficiency of hydrogen storage and the importance of geo-methanation in depleted hydrocarbon reservoirs. Geologic formations could be used for hydrogen storage and conversion to methane, yet technical feasibility is unclear as field-scale data are lacking. Here the authors perform field tests demonstrating that hydrogen can be stored and microbially converted to methane in a depleted underground hydrocarbon reservoir.
ISSN:2058-7546
2058-7546
DOI:10.1038/s41560-024-01458-1