Hydrogen storage with gravel and pipes in lakes and reservoirs

Hunt, Julian David ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1840-7277, Nascimento, Andreas, Romero, Oldrich Joel ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5774-6987, Zakeri, Behnam ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9647-2878, Jurasz, Jakub, Dąbek, Paweł B. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0203-3116, Strzyżewski, Tomasz, Đurin, Bojan, Leal, Walter ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1241-5225, Freitas, Marcos Aurélio Vasconcelos and Wada, Yoshihide ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4770-2539 (2024) Hydrogen storage with gravel and pipes in lakes and reservoirs. Nature Communications, 15 (1). 7723. ISSN 2041-1723

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Abstract

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.