21.07.2024

The key importance of underground hydrogen storage for a cost-effective and rapid energy transition

In a regime that increasingly relies on renewable energy sources, an integrated and efficient European energy system will face an increasing need for short, medium and long-term flexible solutions. Underground hydrogen storage (UHS) enables flexible and system-friendly operational management of electrolyzers and efficient delivery of hydrogen to power generation technologies.

A study conducted by Artelys and Frontier Economics highlights the key role of UHS and shows that 45 TWh of UHS capacity will be needed to meet the 2030 targets set by the REPowerEU plan. The 2050 targets will require more than 250 TWh of UHS capacity. Urgent and targeted intervention, together with a clear and dedicated UHS roadmap, is needed to enable UHS operators to fulfill their role, it said Euractiv.

Study Highlights

  • An integrated and comprehensive approach to EU system planning is needed to unlock the full potential of the interaction between molecules and electrons;
  • Underground hydrogen storage capacity in Europe should reach 45 TWh by 2030. This represents a significant increase compared to the total capacity that would be provided by currently announced projects (9 TWh);
  • Investing in and providing this much-needed additional UHS capacity to the EU energy system would provide a significant economic net benefit of €2,5 billion per year to society;
  • Policymakers need to ensure that the conditions are right to secure the necessary investment and that sufficient EU support is available to overcome the initial barriers associated with the nascent hydrogen market.

Benefit to society

Providing 45 TWh instead of 9 TWh of UHS capacity would optimize investment costs for the energy system as a whole and enable a wide range of operational savings. These savings amount to a net benefit to society of €2,5 billion per year from the first year of operation and more than €30 billion over a 20-year period.

"This study confirms the intuition that underground hydrogen storage is a key building block for meeting the flexibility needs that arise in a power system that relies mostly on variable renewable electricity to power electrolyzers." Investing in underground hydrogen storage allows electrolysers to operate in a flexible manner – thereby minimizing energy system costs, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and curtailing RES – and, in the long term, enables the supply of hydrogen to power generation technologies with hydrogen fuel, which are involved in ensuring the security of the electricity supply", said the director of Artelys, Christopher Andrey.