Long-duration, Large-scale Hydrogen Storage in Natural Porous Formations

Stanford Energy Research Consortium (SERC)

Transforming TWh-scale Energy Storage

Background

Hydrogen is poised to make significant contributions in decarbonizing the energy system, providing seasonal energy storage, and meeting net-zero emission targets. Renewable energy resources, such as solar and wind, provide emission-free electricity that in turn can be converted to hydrogen using electrolysis. Because solar and wind energy are intermittent, hydrogen can help fill the gap if storage can be done economically and at TWh scale. Geological formations have the potential to store multiple TWh of energy due to the extraordinary volume of depleted gas reservoirs and saline formations. Superficially, H₂ storage appears similar to other underground storage processes, but the unique physical properties and reactivity of H₂ in situ suggest otherwise.

Schematic of geological strata and potential underground storage zones. Relatively shallow depleted gas reservoir is repurposed for seasonal H2 storage as are shallower saline formations. Top and bottom seals confine stored H2 to the storage formation. Safe operation calls for monitoring of wellbore and cement integrity. Anthropogenic CO2 is injected into a deeper saline formation for secure storage.

Project Goals

Overall, the primary engineering science goal of this project is to develop mechanistic understanding of the complex physics and chemistry governing underground H₂ storage incorporating multiscale processes. We target the important problem of the transport of H₂ from the fine scale to the reservoir scale including reactivity of stored H₂ leading to its loss underground. Our plans include integrated theoretical, experimental, and numerical approaches that are inherently multiscale and necessary for a transformational change in long-duration, clean-energy storage. Our final product is a multiscale simulator incorporating essential chemomechanical hydrodynamics needed for advancing the application of underground H₂ storage.

Team Members

Anthony R. Kovscek
Anthony Kovscek is the Keleen and Carlton Beal Professor of Petroleum Engineering at Stanford University. His research group develop and apply advanced imaging techniques and experimentation to characterize the fabric of geological and manufactured porous media to improve understanding of complex, reacting, multiphase flows of gas, water, and organic phases within them. Applications include carbon dioxide utilization, hydrogen storage, and environmental management.

Ilenia Battiato
Ilenia Battiato is the Associate Professor in the Department of Energy Science & Engineering at Stanford University. Her research group develop multiscale, upscaled and hybrid models to better understand multiphysics multiscale transport in reactive porous media. Specifically, they use a combination of analytical, numerical, symbolic, data-driven and experimental approaches to further the understanding of across-scale coupling dynamics for single- and multi-phase flow and reactive transport in porous media. Applications include, but are not limited to, reactive transport in rocks, Li-ion batteries and water filtration systems.

Katharine (Kate) Maher
Kate Maher is a Professor in the Department of Earth System Science at Stanford University. Her research examines the carbon cycle through multiple lenses, from the history of atmospheric carbon dioxide and its impact on the evolution of life to strategies for sequestering carbon today. By combining computer models with field and laboratory measurements, her research links together hydrologic, chemical, and biological processes to understand our unique planet. Her current research projects include soil carbon cycling, water quality and carbon dioxide storage in volcanic basins.

Ali Mani
Ali Mani is an associate professor of Mechanical Engineering at Stanford University. He is a faculty affiliate of the Institute for Computational and Mathematical Engineering at Stanford. His research group builds and utilizes large-scale high-fidelity numerical simulations, as well as methods of applied mathematics, to develop quantitative understanding of transport processes that involve strong coupling with fluid flow and commonly involve turbulence or chaos.

Hamdi A. Tchelepi
Hamdi Tchelepi is a Professor in the Department of Energy Science & Engineering at Stanford University. He works on numerical simulation of multiples fluid flow and fluid-structure interactions in heterogeneous porous media. Applications areas include reservoir simulation and subsurface CO2 sequestration. His current research activities include (1) unstable miscible and immiscible flow in porous media, (2) multiscale formulations and scalable solution algorithms for nonlinear fluid flow in heterogeneous formations, (3) nonlinear and linear solution methods for coupled multiphase flow and geomechanics in fractured porous media, (4) simulation of immiscible two-phase fluid flow at the pore scale, and (5) stochastic formulations for the quantification of the uncertainty associated with predictions of nonlinear flow and transport processes in large-scale subsurface formations.